South African civil rights movement AfriForum has served papers on the Zimbabwean government over its land-seizure programme.

AfriForum's lawyer, Willie Spies, said in a statement on Friday that the papers had been served by AfriForum's legal representatives in Harare.

The High Court in Pretoria issued an order last week granting three farmers leave to add the Zimbabwean government to an application to register in South Africa a ruling by a Southern African Development Community tribunal against the seizures.

The SADC tribunal, in Windhoek, ruled that Zimbabwe was violating international law with its 2005 constitutional amendment allowing the seizure of white-owned farms without compensation.

The Zimbabwean government did not recognise the decision or the order that it compensate evicted farmers and protect the property rights of those still on their farms.

Spies said that if the farmers, Louis Fick, Michael Campbell and Richard Etheredge, were successful in their high court action, they would be able, in the short term, to take steps in South African courts to recover some of their costs incurred to date from the Zimbabwean government.

Spies has said previously that this could include attaching the Zimbabwean government's assets in South Africa.

Spies said on Friday that the Zimbabwean government had until Thursday to give notice of whether it intended opposing the application.

The application was on the court roll to be heard the week of February 23, he said.

By IOL