War vets sharpen knives against Mnangagwa

Published: 2 hours ago

War veterans have pledged to confront President Emmerson Mnangagwa and businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei over what they allege is an attempt to privatise land and undermine the agrarian reforms fought for during Zimbabwe's liberation struggle.

The dispute centres on Mnangagwa's Land Tenure Implementation Programme, announced in October 2024, which seeks to replace 99-year leases and offer letters with title deeds. The programme, chaired by Tagwirei - who is on the United States sanctions list for alleged corruption - requires beneficiaries to pay a US$500 per hectare levy. Critics argue this shifts the financial burden of compensating former white commercial farmers onto individual landowners, putting them at risk of losing their land.

At a provincial executive meeting of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) in Bulawayo on Saturday, leaders resolved to challenge the programme. ZNLWVA leader Andrease Mathibela said the association would resist attempts to privatise land, which he described as the "sacred prize of the liberation struggle," and called for every veteran to receive at least 100 hectares to sustain livelihoods and support food security.

Outspoken veteran Blessed "Bombshell" Geza also condemned the initiative, calling it a "corrupt scam" that undermines the legacy of land reform initiated under former President Robert Mugabe. "We fought for our land. Yet you work with Tagwirei to privatise it, using a dubious title deed scheme that will see farmers lose what they bled for," Geza said.

Political analyst Jealousy Mawarire echoed the criticism, describing the Land Tenure Implementation Committee as an illegal entity collecting fees for land valuation and title deeds, setting farmers up to default on loans and risk losing land to banks linked to Tagwirei's Sakunda group.

A group of veterans has already taken legal action, seeking a court declaration that Mnangagwa's land tenure system is unconstitutional. War veteran Joseph Chinguwa argued that agricultural land acquired during the land reform programme cannot be privatised without an Act of Parliament, citing sections 72(5), 291, and 293(3) of the Constitution.

The US$500 per hectare levy is intended to help the government settle a US$3,5 billion debt owed to former white commercial farmers, stemming from a compensation agreement signed in 2020. Despite efforts to raise funds through bonds and donor assistance, the government has so far disbursed only an initial US$3 million.

The standoff highlights rising tensions over land tenure reform in Zimbabwe and the enduring sensitivity of land as a symbol of liberation and economic empowerment.
- Newsday

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