When Mugabe became prime minister approximately 70% of the country’s arable land was owned by approximately 4,000 descendants of white settlers. Mugabe accepted a “willing buyer, willing seller” plan as part of the Lancaster House Agreement of 1979, among other concessions to the White minority. As part of this agreement land redistribution was locked up for a period of 10 years.

By 1997 the “willing buyer, willing seller” land reform program had broken down after the new British government led by Tony Blair unilaterally decided to stop funding it on the basis that the initial £44 million allocated under the Thatcher administration was used to purchase land for members of the ruling elite and not landless peasants. Furthermore, the Labour party felt themselves under no obligation to continue paying White farmers compensation, or in minister Clare Short’s words, “I should make it clear that we do not accept that Britain has a special responsibility to meet the costs of land purchase in Zimbabwe. We are a new Government from diverse backgrounds without links to former colonial interests. My own origins are Irish and as you know we were colonised not colonisers.”

As of September 2006 Mugabe’s family owns three farms: Highfield Estate in Norton, 45 km west of Harare, Iron Mask Estate in Mazowe, about 40 km from Harare, and Foyle Farm in Mazowe, formerly owned by Ian Webster and adjacent to Iron Mask Farm, renamed to Gushungo Farm after Mugabe’s own clan name. These farms were seized forcibly from their previous owners.

More on land reform and a timeline with the major events highlighted here.

Take care

‘debvhu