Zim war veterans challenge white farmers’ compensation deal

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Zimbabwe’s promise to compensate white farmers evicted under Robert Mugabe’s land reform is facing resistance from some war veterans once hailed as heroes of that revolution.

More than twenty years ago, Zimbabwe’s government under Robert Mugabe initiated a sweeping and often violent land reform campaign. The campaign evicted about 4 500 white farmers and reallocated their land to an estimated 300 000 black families. Officials defended the program as a necessary step to address colonial-era land inequalities.

Compensating Zimbabwean white farmers

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has pledged to pay just over US$3.5 billion (R63 billion) to more than 4 000 white farmers. The aim is to rebuild relations with Western countries that condemned the land seizures. The compensation only covers improvements made to the farms, not the land itself.

Since the plan was launched in 2020, little has happened. The government has only paid US$3 million (R56 million), covering 378 farms.

War veterans challenging the decision to pay white farmers

According to Zimlive, five former liberation war veterans have gone to court to block the government’s compensation deal.

These war veterans include Joseph ‘Ginger’ Chinguwa, Godfrey ‘Zvabhendazvabhenda’ Gurira, Joseph ‘Hitler Bazooka’ Chinyangare, Reuben Zulu, and Digmore Ndiya.

The war veterans believe that the deal with white farmers is unconstitutional without new legislation from Parliament. The human rights lawyer and former finance minister Tendai Biti is representing the war veterans. They’ve taken their case to the High Court, seeking to have the entire deal declared unconstitutional.

War Veterans demand clarity on compensation figures

In an affidavit submitted to the court, war veteran Chinguwa noted that Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has publicly acknowledged a Global Compensation Agreement involving US$3.5 billion (R63 billion) in payments.

Chinguwa said the big issue for war veterans was the lack of detail. The government, he argued, hadn’t explained how it calculated the US$3.5 billion (R63 billion). He asked whether the valuation included dams, buildings, or anything else permanently attached to the land.

The war veterans continue arguing: “…in our respectful view, anything permanently affixed to the land is part of the land… This would include, for instance, dams, buildings, fruit, coffee or tea plantations.”

Chinguwa maintained that the government ought to have tabled a clear Act in Parliament. It should have outlined the compensation formula, the scope of land and improvements involved, and the list of intended recipients.

“None of this was done. To this day, the Global Compensation Agreement is a closely kept secret. In a country governed by the rule of law and constitutionalism, this is clearly unconstitutional…”