By Costa Nkomo
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has stated that Britain should have compensated Zimbabwe before the southern African country addresses compensation for white commercial farmers regarding improvements made to the land.
Speaking at the Zimbabwe National Elders Forum at State House, Mnangagwa pointed to recent apologies from former colonial powers, including the UK’s acknowledgement of the Mau Mau in Kenya and Germany’s reparations to the Herero, Nama, and Mbanderu peoples of Namibia.
As his government prepares to compensate former landowners for enhancements on their farms, Mnangagwa questioned why the British, who originally seized the land from Zimbabweans, have not offered similar apologies or reparations.
The ZNEF seeks to leverage the knowledge and expertise of its members to enhance national development and inform policy formulation.
“We have observed that former colonial powers, like the United Kingdom, recently apologised to the Mau Mau of Kenya, and Germany has also expressed regret to the Mbanderu, Herero, and Nama people of Namibia. Therefore, we ask: when will the rest of us in former colonies receive similar apologies? We wonder,” he stated.
His comments underscore the complex and often overlooked history of land ownership in Zimbabwe.
Mnangagwa added, “While my administration has been forthright in accommodating compensation for former white farmers regarding improvements on the farms redistributed by the state, we cannot ignore the cries of our people for justice. Thus, the government has placed substantial value on the journey that the Elders Forum has embarked upon through this proposed study. In retrospect, it is the colonial powers that should have compensated Zimbabwe first, allowing our country to use part of those reparations to compensate former white farmers for their improvements.”
He emphasized that national healing would not be complete without the empathy extended to those farmers.
Mnangagwa’s remarks resonated with the Elders Forum, whose Chairman, Reverend Felix Mukonowengwe, echoed the sentiment: “The people who were removed from their fertile lands have not been compensated, and there has been no voice to say we are sorry. We are here to tell Zimbabwe and the world that these people must be compensated somehow.”
While Mnangagwa’s government is making reparations to white farmers, the President himself appears to be questioning the very foundation of the land reform process.
In the quest for national healing, the complexities of history and the lingering grievances of the dispossessed demand a deeper examination of the injustices that have shaped Zimbabwe’s land landscape.
All compensation from the UK would fallen prey to looting by Zanupf and this is a fact..