Land grab ruled unconstitutional

A Namibian court has halted the planned seizure of four farms owned by German citizens, saying the government had acted unconstitutionally, notes a Mail & Guardian Online report. German land owners Guenther Kessl and Martin Riedmaier last year took the Lands Ministry to court, arguing that expropriation orders served on them in 2005 discriminated against foreign investors and had not followed procedure. Kessl owns two farms, and Riedmaier one. The fourth was in a trust owned by German citizens. ‘The reference to a 'foreigner' can never be a criterion for ... expropriation of the land of that person,’ High Court judges Louis Muller and Annel Silungwe ruled. ‘The according law (Commercial Land Reform Act), the only legislation that Parliament has produced so far ... did not prohibit a foreigner from acquiring land.’ The judges said the applicants' fundamental rights were infringed, adding: ‘The court has no option but to declare such decision by the Lands Minister to expropriate the four farms invalid.’