The recent move by the Zimbabwean government to issue new title deeds for land expropriated without compensation has raised alarm bells, with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal Rights Watch accusing the government of potentially breaching both domestic and international law.
The land in question, seized by the state after independence in 1980, was originally owned by white former farmers and members of the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA).
In a bold step towards implementing a new title deeds system, President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed a Land Tenure Technical Committee, chaired by businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei, to oversee the process.
This initiative has sparked controversy, particularly due to its link to the chaotic land reform programme that began in the early 2000s under the leadership of the late Robert Mugabe. The controversial programme was justified by the government as a necessary measure to address colonial-era land imbalances, which it claimed unfairly benefitted the white settler community and their descendants.
However, the manner in which the land was redistributed, often involving forced seizures and violence, left a bitter legacy and unresolved legal disputes.
The new title deeds were handed over at a ceremony held on 20 December 2024 at President Mnangagwa’s Precabe farm near Kwekwe, where a small group of farmers, including the president himself, received these new deeds. Yet, critics argue that these titles carry little legal weight. Ben Freeth, spokesperson for the SADC Tribunal and executive director of the Mike Campbell Foundation, contends that these new deeds are “unbankable” and ultimately “worthless.”
Freeth points to the fact that the properties in question were previously owned by former white farmers and members of ZIPRA, whose legal claims to the land remain valid. These landowners had court rulings that confirmed their title deeds as still legitimate, despite the government’s attempts to invalidate them during the land reform process.
Freeth emphasized that the issuance of these new title deeds is in violation of international law, particularly the SADC Treaty of 1992. He pointed to the case of the late Mike Campbell and other white commercial farmers, who successfully challenged the Zimbabwean government’s expropriation of their land before the SADC Tribunal.
The Tribunal ruled that the land seizures were a breach of property rights, marking the government’s actions as unlawful. Freeth warned that the newly issued title deeds would be unrecognized under the binding judgment of the regional court, rendering them legally ineffectual unless a full and fair settlement is reached with the original landowners.
Freeth further likened the government’s new title deeds programme to the numerous failed currency reforms in Zimbabwe, where successive new currencies have rapidly become worthless due to hyperinflation. He expressed concern that the same fate would befall the new title deeds, leaving farmers and the agricultural sector in further turmoil.
“We fully support any initiative to issue bona fide title deeds on farms that have been authentically bought by the Zimbabwean government, or in communal areas where the benefits of freehold title have long been denied,” Freeth stated.
He praised countries like Rwanda for their successful implementation of title deeds systems, which he believes have created economic opportunities for millions of people. However, Freeth’s optimism does not extend to Zimbabwe’s current approach, which he argues will only serve to deepen confusion and stagnation within the country’s agricultural economy.
Opposition figures, including lawyer Fadzayi Mahere, have also voiced concerns. Mahere, writing on X (formerly Twitter), described the government’s actions as unconstitutional. She pointed out that under Zimbabwean law, there are only three valid ways to occupy or use state land: via an offer letter, a permit, or a lease.
The act of issuing title deeds for agricultural land is explicitly prohibited by the Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Act, which governs the redistribution of land in the country. Mahere emphasized that the Constitution vests ownership of state land in the state itself, and no legal mechanism currently exists to transfer ownership to private individuals through the issuance of new title deeds.
For such a move to be legal, she argued, the Constitution would have to be amended, effectively reversing the gains of the controversial Land Reform Programme.
In sum, while the issuance of title deeds might appear to be a step toward formalizing land ownership in Zimbabwe, both domestic legal experts and international watchdogs see it as a problematic and potentially unlawful move.
The controversy underscores the continuing challenges Zimbabwe faces in resolving its land ownership disputes and achieving a lasting, equitable solution.
Unless the government engages in a genuine dialogue with the original landowners and addresses the underlying legal issues, the new title deeds programme risks being nothing more than an empty gesture, destined to fail like so many of Zimbabwe’s other ambitious projects.
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