News / National
Zim Court gives back white couple's farm
13 Aug 2011 at 06:06hrs | Views
A Harare magistrate has granted a white couple permission to stay at their farm occupied under the land reform programme that displaced the majority of white commercial farmers. Daily News reported on Friday.
The couple had resisted leaving the 2 900 acre estate, resulting in the court action.
Adam Richard Selby, Linda Selby and their holding firm, Komani Estate Private Limited, were facing a charge of occupying gazetted land without lawful authority as defined in Section 3 (2) (a) as read with Section 3 (3) of the gazetted land (Consequential Provisions Act) Chapter 20:28.
But magistrate Kudakwashe Jarabini ruled that the Selby family was the lawful occupier of the farm based on a permit they had been given by the late governor for Harare Metropolitan province Witness Mangwende in 2005.
"There is therefore overwhelming evidence to the effect that accused are lawfully authorised and have lawful authority in the form of a permit which authorises the accused to occupy and utilise Komani Estate for agricultural purposes," read Jarabini's judgement.
Prosecutors had told the court that the Selby family had been occupying the estate, also known as Selby farm, from February in 2007 illegally because the land had been acquired by government for resettlement purposes.
The Selby family had told the court that they had authority to stay on the estate basing on the permit issued to them by Mangwende granting them permission to co-exist with newly resettled farmers.
Jarabini ruled that there was no change from this previous arrangement, which he said was still valid.
The couple had resisted leaving the 2 900 acre estate, resulting in the court action.
Adam Richard Selby, Linda Selby and their holding firm, Komani Estate Private Limited, were facing a charge of occupying gazetted land without lawful authority as defined in Section 3 (2) (a) as read with Section 3 (3) of the gazetted land (Consequential Provisions Act) Chapter 20:28.
But magistrate Kudakwashe Jarabini ruled that the Selby family was the lawful occupier of the farm based on a permit they had been given by the late governor for Harare Metropolitan province Witness Mangwende in 2005.
"There is therefore overwhelming evidence to the effect that accused are lawfully authorised and have lawful authority in the form of a permit which authorises the accused to occupy and utilise Komani Estate for agricultural purposes," read Jarabini's judgement.
Prosecutors had told the court that the Selby family had been occupying the estate, also known as Selby farm, from February in 2007 illegally because the land had been acquired by government for resettlement purposes.
The Selby family had told the court that they had authority to stay on the estate basing on the permit issued to them by Mangwende granting them permission to co-exist with newly resettled farmers.
Jarabini ruled that there was no change from this previous arrangement, which he said was still valid.
Source - DailyNews
