Farm’s seizure is ordered halted

A regional African tribunal ordered Zimbabwe to halt its seizure of a farmer’s land, dealing a blow to President Robert Mugabe and threatening to draw his neighbors into a heated land redistribution debate.

The three-person Southern African Development Community tribunal unanimously ruled in favor of Zimbabwean farmer Mike Campbell, who had asked the court in Windhoek, the Namibian capital, to stop the confiscation of his family’s farm.

Mugabe’s government has seized thousands of white-owned farms and redistributed the land to blacks since 2000. His party nominated him Thursday as its candidate for president in next year’s vote, demonstrating his hold despite the country’s economic collapse.