"AAH! Waunoti chikwata ndiani? Ini mwene wenyika!" retorted Chief Tangwena. Alas! Millions are still squatters! W Mukori

 How many rural peasant own even one acre of land today, 46 years after independence? NONE! 

Smith instituted the Tribal Trust Land system where land is own communally to ensure rural people are deny ownership of the land. Whites were granted title deed to the land where ever they settled be they farmers, miners, missionaries, urban dwellers, etc. but not blacks.

The late John Robertson, a renowned Economist and Banker, advised Ian Smith of the social and economic benefits of granting rural blacks title deeds to even a few square metres of land on which their mud huts stood. Still he refused to give them title deeds because, he argued, economic empowerment will lead to demands for meaningful political empowerment. He was not prepared to give the blacks the voice and the vote.

John Robertson gave Robert Mugabe the same sound advice to grant rural peasant title deeds. After all this was the A1 reason for the liberation war! Mugabe refused to end the TTL system for the same selfish political reason. Zanu PF has deliberately kept the rural people poor and in servitude, they are no more than medieval serfs fearful and dependent of the over bearing Zanu PF rule elite and their bully proxies chiefs, headman, war veterans Zanu PF green bombers, etc. 

Zanu PF has always, always, considered the rural areas as its political strongholds and no-go areas for its political opponents dating back to the nation’s first nationwide elections in 1980. Contrary to the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement, Zanu PF did not withdraw all its freedom fighters to designated Assembly Points during the campaign period. They remained in the field to keep political opponents out, creating no-go areas, and their campaign message to the rural masses was that if Zanu PF did not win the election the bust war would continue. 

Of course, povo voted to end the bush war. And having lost their vote then the people have never got it back. Denying the rural people title deed to even a few square metres of land has allowed Zanu PF to deny them all meaningful political power! 

Chief Tangwena asked Queen Elizabeth of England for a whip with which to fight Ian Smith for denying him and his people the right to own their own ancestral land. He must be turning in his grave to see 49% of Zimbabweans today living in extreme poverty because they continued to be deny the right to own the same ancestral land and this time by fellow blacks but for the same cynical and selfish political reason!  

"AAH! WAUNOTI CHAKWATA NDIANI? INI MWENE WENYIKA! " RETORTED CHIEF REKAYI TANGWENA. "MHOSVA YOMUSARINYA (MISCELLANEYEPI. NDIBVIRE! (Whom are you calling squatter? Me the own of the land! I am being charged under the Miscellaneous {Mischief} Act. Get lost!)

Chief Rekayi Tangwena must be turning in his grave to know that millions of ordinary Zimbabweans, 49%, are living in extreme poverty today because the Zanu PF regimes is denying then title deeds to even a few acres of land - the one asst that would economically, politically and socially change their lives - for the same cynical and selfish political reasons Ian Smith deny blacks title deeds.

Here we are, 46 years after independence, we are still fighting for the right to own our own ancestral land! The Queen of England owned the Tribal Trust Lands (TTL) during colonial rule and now the State President owns all the TTL turning rural povo into nothing more than medieval serfs forever beholden to his and his bully Zanu PF ruling elite and proxies!

We really need to settle this issue once and once for all. Every Zimbabwean has the right to own property, land is the one property that means everything to the rural people. EVERYTHING! Some self-righteous buffoon is denying them that right!