A group of white farmers who had their land seized in Zimbabwe are attempting to claim property owned by the Zimbabwean government in South Africa. The farmers want the four properties in Cape Town, worth millions of dollars, as compensation for the loss of farms. Last week, a South African court agreed with a regional court ruling that President Robert Mugabe's violent land reform programme was unlawful. Almost all white-owned land has been seized in the past 10 years. The ruling by the South African High Court paved the way for farmers who lost property to file for compensation in South African courts. The farmers' lawyer in Cape Town, Willie Spies, said that since the properties were of a non-diplomatic nature they were not protected by diplomatic immunity. Jets vulnerable A sheriff of the court is due to serve the papers to the people currently occupying the properties. If the farmers are successful their lawyers will have legal control over the properties and they can put them up for auction. The BBC's Mohammed Allie in Cape Town says other non-diplomatic assets such as Air Zimbabwe jets are also vulnerable to be seized for compensation for lost farms. In 2008, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) court ruled that farmers should be allowed to return to their farms unhindered. Earlier this year, a Zimbabwe court rejected the farmers' attempt to enforce the Sadc tribunal's decision. And despite the formation of a unity government in Zimbabwe a year ago, white farmers are still facing harassment. 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. Source: BBC