Author: Tongkeh Joseph Fowale
Zimbabwe’s land crisis is a problem deeply rooted in the history of British colonial administration in Africa. It began with Cecil Rhodes and his BSAC.

The story of Zimbabwe today is a story of conflict over land between whites and blacks. It is a conflict that has dragged a once-prosperous country down to a level where it now constitutes a danger to its own self. It is also a story deeply rooted in the colonial history of Africa.

It has, however, been manipulated by politicians at the national and international levels such that the truth about the origins of Zimbabwe’s crisis has been buried in the ashes of international politics.

The Origins of Zimbabwe’s Land Crisis

The origins of the land crisis in Zimbabwe are firmly rooted in the period of British colonialism in Africa. Zimbabwe fell within the orbit of (Southern) Africa where in Walter Rodney’s words “the absolute limit of exploitation was found.” This tragedy began with the establishment of the British South Africa Company (BSAC) by John Cecile Rhodes in 1890.

Rhodes, the forerunner of British colonial rule in Southern Africa, obtained the Charter for the BSAC in October 1889 from Lord Salisbury; the then British Prime Minister whom Robin Harlett says “drew comfort from glis assumptions about the future.” To obtain this Charter, Rhodes had earlier duped the Ndebele King — Lobengula into signing two treaties in 1880 and 1888 which deprived the monarch of both his land and authority.

The BSAC and the Land in Rhodesia

According to the Charter granted to Rhodes, his administration was to last for 25 years, but BSAC administration only ended in 1923. Rhodes gave his name — Rhodesia to his new booty and proceeded to enact legislation that favored white ownership of land. This legislation was backed by force. The first instance in the use of force occurred in 1894 when the BSAC under L.S Jameson began allocating 6000 acre farms to white troopers.

In 1894, the BSAC promulgated the Matabeleland-Order-in Council by which the BSA assumed ownership of land by right of conquest. With the consent of British imperial authorities, the BSAC proceeded to destroy all African institutions that obstructed the “profit” motive of the BSAC. Africans where therefore prevented from growing food crops and used instead in white-owned mines and farms. “These Africans,” notes Atieno-Odhiambo, “lived in hovels where they could be controlled and made to feel very desperate.”

End of BSAC administration and the acceleration of Land excision

BSAC administration ended in 1923 and Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing territory. The 1923 Constitution that ended BSAC administration did not take African aspirations into consideration. It instead gave “effective powers to settlers” as Robin Harlett observes. This made further alienation of land easier. In 1925, the Morris Carter Commission recommended racial division of land in Rhodesia.

The outcome of the Carter Commission’s recommendation was the Land Apportionment Act of 1930. This law removed Africans from the most fertile lands to barren ones. Africans were also removed from settlements along railways and major roads to prevent them from enjoying any commercial advantages.

The Land Husbandry Act of 1957 and the monumental Land Tenure Act of 1969 revealed the climax of colonial land deprivation in Southern Rhodesia. In Claire Palley’s words, the Land Tenure Act “was the open acknowledgement of the principle of racial paramountcy in the respective racial areas.”

Zimbabwe’s land crisis was enmeshed in the political developments in Africa throughout the period of colonialism. Between 1890 and 1969, Zimbabwe itself underwent many political transformations. From the BSAC through British colonial rule to Ian Smiths UDI, all successive regimes placed emphasis on land seizure from blacks. It was against this background that African nationalism was born in Southern Rhodesia.

   Racist Cecil Rhodes, prime minister of Cape Colony, was also a gold and diamond mogul.

Sources:

•    Atieno-Odhiambo, E.S. “The Origins of the Zimbabwe Problem, 1888-1923 in S.E Wilmer. Zimbabwe Now, 1973.

•    Chiambatti, A.M. “Africans and the Struggle for their rights in Rhodesia” in S.E Wilmer. Zimbabwe Now, 1973.

•    Harlett, Robin. Africa since 1875, 1999.

•    Palley, Claire. “Analysis of the 1971 British Proposals for a Settlement with Rhodesia” in S.E Wilmer. Zimbabwe Now, 1973.

•    Rodney, Walter. How Europe underdeveloped Africa, 1990

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