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<\/p>\nRabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za<\/p>\n
11 May 2026<\/p>\n
2-minute read<\/p>\n
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Zimbabwe is set to return 67 farms seized from foreigners from 4 European countries covered by bilateral investment banks. The country\u2019s agricultural minister stated that they are seeking to mend ties with European countries while battling debt relief.<\/p>\n
Tino Mambeu, a member of the Zimbabwe Exile\u2019s Forum, says that the story of land reform came about round about 1979 to 1980, when Zimbabwe sought to end the war with British settlers. The British government was to pay compensation to farmers holding the land and return it to \u201cnatural Zimbabweans\u201d. Two decades later, \u201cMugabe finds himself in a spot of bother\u201d with economic and political challenges in the country. A referendum to give Mugabe more powers was rejected by the Zimbabwean people, prompting the president to give permission to the Zimbabwean people to forcibly take land from white commercial farmers. Land takeovers then resulted in sanctions, hyper-inflation, and the country being unable to feed its people, as well as the current chaos they are still facing.<\/p>\n
The initial reform process was so tumultuous that it targeted not only white settler farmers, but all those possessing farms, and in the process, 840 black Zimbabweans lost their land.<\/p>\n
Trying to right its relationships with the West, the government is now wanting to return some farms to settlers coming from certain countries. Concessions could be made by government to \u201ccover up and get favour from the Western institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The people in Zimbabwe are experiencing \u201cmixed reactions,\u201d Tino mentions, uncertain as to what happens once the farms are returned. With no clear strategy outlined by government, those inhabiting the farms want to know if they will be resettled elsewhere or forced back to their rural lands. \u201cThe Zimbabwean government has always been indicating left and turning right,\u201d he emphasizes, and this has caused panic among the people in their understanding of what happens next.<\/p>\n
Zimbabwe itself is a complex country where almost everything done by the people \u201cis interpreted in a political manner,\u201d and Tino concludes that this has led to the current confusion with the people not really understanding \u201cthe direction this thing is taking.\u201d<\/p>\n