The Commercial Farmers Union of Zimbabwe has issued a report charging that at least 16 judges have been given property seized from white farmers under land reform, compromising their judicial objectivity in such cases.
The CFU, an advocate for the interests of white commercial farmers of which there remain only a few hundred in the country from several thousand in 2000 when fast-track land reform began, said Supreme Court and High Court judges rule in land reform cases though they have benefited from the process.
CFU President Deon Theron said a “substantial” number of judges have been given farms under the controversial land reform program.
The CFU recently expressed outrage when a Chipinge magistrate presided in a case involving a white commercial farmer whose farm he had been offered by the Ministry of Lands in what seemed a clear conflict of interest.
Political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya told VOA Studio 7 reporter Patience Rusere that it is common knowledge judges have been beneficiaries of land reform, illustrating the extent to which the rule of law has been compromised.