Orality versus Written Legislation: Oral History as used in Zimbabwe`s Post-2000 Land Reform Programme

Abstract

Zimbabwe became a colony of the British Empire on 13 September 1890, and attained independence in 1980. During the colonial period of 1890 to 1980 land was expropriated primarily from the indigenous Ndebele and the Shona tribal groups through the institutionalisation of legislation that brought about the segregation of Africans and paved the way for settlement and farming by whites. Between 1980 and 1990 there was little progress in terms of resettlement programmes because of financial constraints and the terms and conditions of the Lancaster House Agreement regarding the willing seller willing buyer principle. There were serious economic challenges in the decade 1990 to 2000, but the period post 2000 witnessed brisk land repossessions which were spearheaded by war veterans and politicians. At the heart of the “land invasions,” as they were popularly termed, lay historical injustices. This paper seeks to provide an insight into the centrality of the oral tradition or oral history as legal basis for the land repossessions that took place. Neither legal recourse nor visiting archives and other information centres for the purposes of authentication were a priority. The Lancaster Constitution was viewed as an obstacle when dealing with land. The National Archives of Zimbabwe is placed in context within the situation discussed.