A regional African tribunal ruled Friday that the repossession and sale of the farm of a black Zimbabwean by a bank in order to recoup an outstanding loan was "illegal and void."

Luke Tembani took his case to the tribunal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) based in Namibia in June, seeking to keep his land.

"The sale of the farm was illegal and void and the legal title of the owner, Luke Tembani of farm Minverwacht remains valid," Justice Ariranga Pillay said.

"The ruling is unanimous (of all five judges)," Pillay said.

Tembani became one of Zimbabwe's first black commercial farmers shortly after independence in 1980 but faced eviction in May after the Agricultural Bank of Zimbabwe sold his farm to recover a loan.

Tembani asked the tribunal to allow him to keep his land, saying the bank had reneged on a deal to allow him to sell part of his farm to settle the loan.

Tembani arranged the loan more than a decade ago to expand his farm.

According to court documents, he defaulted on part of his repayments when interest rates soared in 1997 as Zimbabwe's economic crisis unfolded.

Documents filed with the tribunal stated that the bank had sold the farm in 2000, without any court hearings, even though Tembani was still living on it.

In June, the Zimbabwe government urged the tribunal not to take up the case because Tembani still had legal options in the country to settle the matter.

By AFP