WATCH: Chenjerai Hunzvi

The former leader of the Zimbabwean war veterans said his movement plans to reclaim more than 800 white-owned farms this week.

It came just one day after Dr. Chenjerai Hunzvi escaped an immediate jail sentence for defying a court order to end the land occupations.

Hunzvi made his comments on a campaigning trip to the Chikomba constituency where he'll be standing in parliamentary elections scheduled for the end of June.

Campaigning ahead of June's parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe is well under way.


Dr. Chenjerai Hunzvi, the leader of the war veterans travelled to the Chikomba district, 150 kilometres (93 miles) south of Harare where he is standing for election.

Hunzvi's war veterans are occupying more than 1,200 white-owned farms.

He was greeted by pro-government supporters wearing Zanu PF T-shirts, dancing and singing.

Hunzvi escaped an immediate jail sentence on Friday, despite defying a court order, demanding that he end the occupations.

The Commercial Farmers Union asked the judge to avoid sending Hunzvi to prison, fearing it would incite more violence.

Hunzvi was given a suspended jail sentence for contempt of court and was also fined 10-thousand Zimbabwe dollars (260 U-S dollars).

But despite narrowly escaping jail for ignoring the court order, Hunzvi said on Saturday that they planned to reclaim another 841 farms this week.

"The redistribution of land is going to start next week, starting with 841 designated farms. As you remember those 841 farms where designated by the government and the farmers took the government to court. Now that the government has put in place the statutory instrument which is gazetted now, we should start with those farms to redistribute to the people of Zimbabwe."

President Mugabe plans to invoke special powers to enable him to redistribute land before the elections, called for June 25-26.

Mugabe has called the farm occupations a justified protest against unfair land ownership.

A few thousand whites own a third of Zimbabwe's fertile land.

At least 23 people have died from political violence that began after the government was defeated in a referendum on a revised constitution that would have given President Robert Mugabe powers to confiscate white-owned farms.

Britain has offered to pay 36 million pounds (56 million U-S dollars) for land reform if Zimbabwe ends the violence, stops the occupations and holds free and fair elections.

The main opposition party the Movement for Democratic Change held a seminar on Saturday for their parliamentary candidates, at Adelaide Acres, 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Harare.

"We are working on the election campaign. The policies of the MDC, the distinction between personality clashes and on the programme of the MDC. To sell the MDC to the people."

Lawyers for the MDC plan to go to court on Monday to argue for a delay in the May 29 nomination deadline for parliamentary election candidates.

The party wants authorities to extend the deadline so that there will be at least 14 days between the publication of voters rolls and constituency boundaries and the deadline, as required by the country's constitution.

Those documents have not yet been published.

Thirteen more white owned farms in Zimbabwe have been occupied by so-called war veterans, since Friday, the Commercial Farmers Union said on Saturday.

No new incidents of violence were reported.