Windhoek  - The Zimbabwean government will have to answer to an upcoming SADC summit for violating an injunction granted by the tribunal of the Southern Afican Development Community to stop harassing Zimbabwean farmers until their case was decided by the regional court.

"The applicants have adduced abundant material to show that the existence of the failure on the part of the respondent and its agents to comply with the decisions of the Tribunal has been established," the five-judge bench said in its ruling released Tuesday.

"Consequently, pursuant to Article 32(5) of the Protocol on Tribunal, the Tribunal will report its finding to the summit for the latter to take appropriate action," it ruled.

The SADC tribunal, which is based in Namibia, had ordered the Zimbabwe government not to interfere with Mike Campbell or 77 other white farmers pending the outcome of their case, in which they are challenging their eviction under President Robert Mugabe's controversial land reform programme.

In recent weeks, however, militia allied to Mugabe's Zanu-PF party have invaded several of the farms. Campbell, the first of the farmers to turn to the SADC tribunal last year, in a last-ditch bid to remain on the land, was badly beaten along with his wife and son-in-law during an attack on his farm.

Last week the court also heard submissions from the farmers and the Zimbabwean government on one part of the farmers' case dealing with a Zimbabwean law that bars them from contesting their evictions through the courts.

The farmers say the law violates the SADC treaty, to which Zimbabwe and 13 other countries in the region are signatories. Judgement on that appeal has not yet been passed. (dpa)