New Zimbabwe law scraps 4,000 land challenges

New Zimbabwe law scraps 4,000 land challenges
Sun Sep 18, 2005 12:07 PM GMT

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe has nullified more than 4,000 court cases brought by white farmers challenging the forced acquisition of their land, the official Sunday Mail said.

President Robert Mugabe this month signed into law controversial constitutional changes he said would finally settle any dispute over the legality of his government's drive to seize white-owned farms, which started in 2000.

Under the amendments, all such land now becomes state-owned and court challenges are barred.

The Sunday Mail quoted the chief law officer in the attorney general's office, Nelson Mutsonziwa, as saying the department would make court submissions on Monday to formally end the farmers' litigation.

"Around 4,000 cases were pending before the Administrative Court and the passing of the Constitutional Amendment Bill into law means they are all being nullified. All the challenges are now useless," Mutsonziwa told the paper. He was not available for comment.

The Sunday Mail quoted Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa as saying the nationalisation would not affect private residential properties or companies.

The changes to the constitution also provide for the creation of a Senate as the second chamber of parliament, seen likely packed with Mugabe's allies, and allow the government to deny passports to people deemed "traitors".

Critics believe the changes are yet another tool to suppress opposition to Mugabe's 25-year rule as the country groans under an economic crisis widely blamed on his mismanagement.

Zimbabwe is suffering from record unemployment, triple digit inflation, a six-year-old fuel crunch and food shortages, which critics blame on disruptions to agriculture linked to the land seizures. Mugabe's government solely blames drought.

Mugabe denies misruling the country since assuming power from Britain in 1980, and argues that London has conspired with other western countries and his domestic opponents to sabotage Zimbabwe's economy over the land seizures, which he says redress ownership imbalances left by British colonialism.