Zimbabwe - April 2025

On 9 April, the Zimbabwean government announced that it had disbursed the first compensation payments to white farmers whose farms were expropriated under a controversial land reform programme implemented in the early 2000s. Intended to redress the country’s racially skewed land ownership, the Fast-Track Land Reform Programme redistributed approximately 4,500 white-owned farms to black recipients in chaotic seizures that were often marked by violence and illegality. The April payments, which covered 378 farmers, totalled USD 3.1 million in cash and USD 307.9 million in government bonds. A further 362 farmers have been approved for compensation under the same scheme, but many more are seeking a better deal. The payments are part of the IMF’s conditions to restructure the country’s large foreign debt. 

Sources: Africa Confidential, Human Rights Watch, The Guardian