Mike Campbell won his farm case against Zimbabwe in 2008; he was beaten, his house burned, the tribunal was shut down, and South African courts let the farmers sell Zimbabwe's Cape Town property for costs

In August 1974 Mike and Angela Campbell bought Mount Carmel, a 3,000-acre farm near Chegutu, and spent 20 years paying off the loan. Amendment 17 to Zimbabwe's constitution, of 14 September 2005, let the state take farmland by notice in the gazette and barred owners from challenging it in court. Campbell filed a case with the Tribunal of the Southern African Development Community on 11 October 2007. On 29 June 2008, two days after a disputed presidential run-off, Mike, Angela and their son-in-law Ben Freeth were abducted, beaten and made to sign a withdrawal from the case. On 28 November 2008 the Tribunal ruled that Zimbabwe had breached the SADC Treaty, that Amendment 17 discriminated on grounds of race, and that the farmers' possession must be protected and fair compensation paid. Zimbabwe ignored it. In August and September 2009 the Campbell and Freeth houses were burned. In August 2010 SADC leaders did not reappoint the judges, and in May 2011 they suspended the tribunal. Campbell died at home on 6 April 2011, aged 78; his family said he never recovered from the beating. On 5 June 2009 the Tribunal had awarded the farmers costs of US$5,816.47 and R112,780.13. South Africa's North Gauteng High Court registered the order, and the sheriff was authorised to attach Zimbabwe's buildings in Cape Town. On 20 September 2012 the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed Zimbabwe's appeal, and the Constitutional Court dismissed its further appeal in June 2013.