Zimbabwe’s former deputy president, now leader of Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF), Joice Mujuru, has offered to pay $ 1.4m to the previous owner of her inherited Alamein Farm, also known as Ruzambo Farm, a report said on Wednesday.
The farm was situated about 72km outside of Harare.
According to the BBC, Mujuru agreed to compensate Guy Watson-Smith for losses from the crops, animals and equipment that were on his farm when he was evicted.
Mujuru allegedly also promised to pay Watson-Smith’s legal fees and interest on the compensation.
She, however, pointed out that she could not return the land because it was now owned by the state.
Mujuru inherited the farm from her late husband former general Solomon Mujuru, who obtained it during the height of the country’s land reform programme at the beginning of the century.
Earlier this week, a Zimbabwean businessman accused Mujuru of “hypocrisy” following the reports that she wanted to compensate Watson-Smith.
Tawanda Nyambirai said that Mujuru was being “insincere” as she was offering to compensate a former white farm owner “ahead of blacks who also suffered under her late husband”.
Nyambirai reportedly lost at least three of his farms when he was evicted by the late general Mujuru at the height of the land reforms.
The country’s land reform programme was launched in 2000, when President Robert Mugabe and his ruling Zanu-PF party started taking over white-owned farms to resettle landless blacks.
Reports said that at least 4000 white farmers were evicted from their farms.
Mugabe said the reforms were meant to correct colonial land ownership imbalances.
