Zimbabwe farmers defy deadline

Court boost for Zimbabwe farmers

Farmers refusing to leave face a fine and imprisonment

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Almost 2000 white farmers in Zimbabwe are awaiting the government's next move after they defied a deadline to leave their land or face eviction.

As yet there have been no immediate reports of action against the farmers.

At least 1,900 farmers have stayed in place along with all the workers they employ and the families that live on the farm, Jenny Williams from the Farmers' Group Justice For Agriculture told CNN.

The farmers are expecting the government to take action, Williams said.

"We are expecting that certain people will be targeted. We received calls yesterday [Thursday] from them saying they have been threatened and they await arrest," she told CNN.

Local police say they have no plans to use force to remove the 2900 of the country's 4500 farmers ordered to abandon their farms by midnight Thursday under the country's land-reform program.

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But Ignatius Chombo, the local government minister, said that those defying orders will be "arrested and dealt with by police." Farmers face a fine and up to two years in prison if convicted.

President Robert Mugabe's seizure order targets an estimated ninety-five percent of white-owned farms. It also affects about 350,000 farm workers -- most of them black laborers -- and altogether two million family members.

Earlier on Thursday, farmers won a small victory when Zimbabwe's High Court invalidated one of the eviction orders.

Court ruling

In a landmark ruling, the court ruled the state could not confiscate land owned by one farmer -- Andrew Kockett -- because it had not informed the National Merchant Bank, which has a mortgage registered over the property.

Observers say the decision could throw a lifeline to many of the farmers facing eviction.

"Farmers in the same situation as me -- which is I believe the majority -- in very few cases or in no cases has the bond holder been served with these notices," Kockett told South African radio.

"Whether that automatically gives the other farmers cover I don't know."

Farm officials said many farmers would wait to see how Mugabe's government reacted to the court verdict.

Some farmers have already withdrawn from their properties to towns and cities. This weekend is a public holiday the ruling party traditionally uses to rally support for its policies.

Trucks laden with household goods drove into Harare from surrounding farming districts on Thursday, but some farmers told Reuters news agency they might return next week.

Mugabe -- Zimbabwe's sole ruler since the former Rhodesia gained independence in 1980 -- says his land seizures are meant to right the wrongs of British colonialism, which left 70 percent of the best farmland in white hands.

In May, Mugabe passed a law giving 2,900 farmers 45 days to wind up operations and another 45 days -- expiring at midnight on August 8 -- to leave their land and make way for black settlers.

The World Food Programme says half of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million people face severe hunger.