Court move holds up Mugabe seizures

Hundreds of white Zimbabwean farmers were today defying a midnight deadline to leave their farms, after a last-minute court ruling gave them hope of extra time.

Only hours before the government's midnight ban for farmers to walk away from their livelihood, the Zimbabwean High Court ruled that a mortgaged farm could not be taken for resettlement by blacks if the state had not properly informed the mortgage lender.

Some 2,900 white farmers were told they faced two years in prison and fines if they did not leave but about half today have taken the risk. High Court Judge Charles Hungwe ruled the state could not confiscate land owned by Andrew Kockett because it had not informed the National Merchant Bank, which has a mortgage registered on the property.

"For farmers in the same situation as me, in very few or in no cases has the bond holder been served with these notices," said Mr Kockett.

There are reports police units were preparing to be deployed across Matabeleland region today to enforce the government's decision, but were on hold after the ruling.

Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, has claimed his land seizures are meant to right the wrongs of British colonialism, which left 70 per cent of the best farmland in white hands.

According to farmers group Justice for Agriculture, about half the white farmers had quit their lands but many have said they would return next week. Spokesman Jenni Williams warned there could be violence later with Mugabe's so-called war veterans expected to flood some farmlands.

Aid groups say the disruption to farming through the state-backed farm invasions has compounded both food shortages and a severe economic crisis.