Mnangagwa Defends Seizure of White-Owned Farms
Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa has defended his country’s land reform programme during the World Governments Summit, saying the takeover of farms from white commercial farmers was necessary to correct colonial land ownership.
Mnangagwa said the policy was aimed at restoring land to Black Zimbabweans and strengthening national sovereignty after independence. He argued the decision was about reclaiming economic control, even though it triggered years of international sanctions and isolation from Western countries.
Zimbabwe’s fast-track land reform began around 2000, when thousands of large commercial farms were redistributed to new local farmers.
Supporters view it as correcting historical injustice from the colonial era, while critics say it contributed to economic collapse, food shortages and loss of agricultural production in the years that followed.
The president maintained that Zimbabwe would not reverse the reforms, insisting the land issue is settled and part of the country’s independence legacy.
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