First Arrest Warrants for White Farmers - 2002-08-16

In Zimbabwe, five white farmers have appeared in court to face charges of ignoring a government order to vacate their farms. These five are the first group among thousands of white farmers who will be prosecuted for refusing to leave their farms under President Mugabe's land reform law. All of them are free on bail and must appear in court in September. Today, five more farmers have been arrested for defying the law. Mr. Mugabe states that his land reform policy, which gives white-owned land to landless blacks, compensates for the injustices of British colonialism. Zimbabwe has ordered at least six defiant white farmers to appear in court today for ignoring the eviction order under the controversial new land reform program. These six are the first to be summoned to court. More than two thousand white farmers ignored last week's deadline to vacate their farms so that they could be allocated to landless blacks. The defense lawyers for these six claim that their clients will challenge the eviction order constitutionally. If they are found guilty of ignoring the order, they may face fines or imprisonment. President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe asserts that the land reform policy will rectify the mistakes of the British colonial era, which allocated the best agricultural land to whites.