Harare, Zimbabwe – More than two decades after Zimbabwe seized thousands of mainly white-owned commercial farms, the government is initiating a new phase in its land reform policy by addressing outstanding land claims.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration emphasized that this move does not reverse the land redistribution programme that reshaped Zimbabwe’s countryside after 2000. Instead, officials are resolving three distinct categories of land claims involving foreign investors, Black Zimbabwean owners, and white farmers who remained on acquired land.

Sixty-seven farms protected under bilateral investment promotion and protection agreements (BIPPAs) are being returned to investors from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Additionally, 840 farms that officials said were mistakenly included in the acquisition process during land reform are to be restored to their Black Zimbabwean owners. Meanwhile, 409 white farmers who have stayed on farms alongside land reform beneficiaries will be allowed to purchase the farms or portions they occupy through a set-off mechanism linked to compensation for eligible improvements.

At independence in 1980, white commercial farmers controlled a disproportionate share of Zimbabwe’s most productive farmland, a legacy of colonial policies that restricted Black Zimbabweans’ access to prime agricultural land. Human Rights Watch has documented violence, intimidation, and political discrimination during the land reform process, with disputes over ownership and allocation continuing for years.

Reflecting on the past, one individual noted, “We did not have much knowledge except party directives and the common line that ‘we are taking our land back.’ Of course, we had some grievances, but when I look back, we could have done it better and more orderly without turning the process into a war.”

This policy adjustment marks a significant development in Zimbabwe’s ongoing efforts to address historical land ownership issues and balance competing claims.

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