By
Costa
Nkomo
Speaking
at
the
Zimbabwe
National
Elders
Forum
at
State
House,
Mnangagwa
pointed
to
recent
apologies
from
former
colonial
powers,
including
the
UK’s
acknowledgement
of
the
Mau
Mau
in
Kenya
and
Germany’s
reparations
to
the
Herero,
Nama,
and
Mbanderu
peoples
of
Namibia.
As
his
government
prepares
to
compensate
former
landowners
for
enhancements
on
their
farms,
Mnangagwa
questioned
why
the
British,
who
originally
seized
the
land
from
Zimbabweans,
have
not
offered
similar
apologies
or
reparations.
The
ZNEF
seeks
to
leverage
the
knowledge
and
expertise
of
its
members
to
enhance
national
development
and
inform
policy
formulation.
“We
have
observed
that
former
colonial
powers,
like
the
United
Kingdom,
recently
apologised
to
the
Mau
Mau
of
Kenya,
and
Germany
has
also
expressed
regret
to
the
Mbanderu,
Herero,
and
Nama
people
of
Namibia.
Therefore,
we
ask:
when
will
the
rest
of
us
in
former
colonies
receive
similar
apologies?
We
wonder,”
he
stated.
His
comments
underscore
the
complex
and
often
overlooked
history
of
land
ownership
in
Zimbabwe.
Mnangagwa
added,
“While
my
administration
has
been
forthright
in
accommodating
compensation
for
former
white
farmers
regarding
improvements
on
the
farms
redistributed
by
the
state,
we
cannot
ignore
the
cries
of
our
people
for
justice.
Thus,
the
government
has
placed
substantial
value
on
the
journey
that
the
Elders
Forum
has
embarked
upon
through
this
proposed
study.
In
retrospect,
it
is
the
colonial
powers
that
should
have
compensated
Zimbabwe
first,
allowing
our
country
to
use
part
of
those
reparations
to
compensate
former
white
farmers
for
their
improvements.”
He
emphasized
that
national
healing
would
not
be
complete
without
the
empathy
extended
to
those
farmers.
Mnangagwa’s
remarks
resonated
with
the
Elders
Forum,
whose
Chairman,
Reverend
Felix
Mukonowengwe,
echoed
the
sentiment:
“The
people
who
were
removed
from
their
fertile
lands
have
not
been
compensated,
and
there
has
been
no
voice
to
say
we
are
sorry.
We
are
here
to
tell
Zimbabwe
and
the
world
that
these
people
must
be
compensated
somehow.”
While
Mnangagwa’s
government
is
making
reparations
to
white
farmers,
the
President
himself
appears
to
be
questioning
the
very
foundation
of
the
land
reform
process.
In
the
quest
for
national
healing,
the
complexities
of
history
and
the
lingering
grievances
of
the
dispossessed
demand
a
deeper
examination
of
the
injustices
that
have
shaped
Zimbabwe’s
land
landscape.
