Zimbabwe court rejects land case

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Zimbabwe's High Court has rejected a regional court ruling against President Robert Mugabe's land-reform programme, state-owned media says.

"Enforcement of that judgment would be fundamentally contrary to the public policy of this country," said Justice Bharat Patel.

Some white farmers wanted the Harare court to enforce the Sadc tribunal's decision which ruled in their favour.

Almost all white-owned land has been seized in the past 10 years.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) court ruled in 2008 that farmers should be allowed to return to their farms unhindered.

But Mr Mugabe has already rejected the ruling.

Land reform is one of President Mugabe's central policies but his critics say it has helped destroy the country's economy.

Under colonial rule, white farmers seized much of Zimbabwe's best land, forcing black farmers to less fertile areas.

Reversing this was one of the reasons for Zimbabweans taking up arms in the 1970s to end white minority rule.

Since the formation of the unity government last year, there have been some improvements in the country, with organisations and some countries offering aid to help rebuilt Zimbabwe's embattled economy.

By the end of last year the Zimbabwe's economy has stopped its freefall - mainly because the government has adopted foreign currencies instead of the worthless Zimbabwe dollar.