Mugabe and the White African

MUGABE AND THE WHITE AFRICAN

“This Hitler has only one objective: justice for his people, sovereignty for his people, recognition of the independence of his people and their rights over their resources. If that is Hitler, then let me be a Hitler tenfold” -Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe

I recently watched a 2009 British documentary entitled Mugabe and the White African. All in all, I thought it was a great film, and was certainly emotionally gripping. The film follows the story of Mike Campbell and his son-in-law Ben Freeth as they struggle to hold onto their farm in Zimbabwe from repeated attempts to force them off as a result of Mugabe’s land reform policies. It was something I had known very little about before watching the documentary, and it has definitely opened my eyes to another interesting conflict in Africa.

 To understand where the film is coming from, you need to understand a little bit about the history and politics of the country. Zimbabwe was originally called Rhodesia after British businessman Cecil Rhodes who was heavily involved with the original colonization of the region. The original British settlers stripped the region of its resources, pitted native Africans against one another, and established themselves as a ruling minority upper class.

In 1965 this White ruling party elected to declare its independence from the United Kingdom. The new government attempted to hold on to its white majority rule, and the declaration only served to destabilize the region. The Rhodesian Bush War ensured which eventually ousted the minority party and replaced it with Robert Mugabe’s party. The country was renamed Zimbabwe, and while successful at first, soon became one of the poorest nations in Africa with the lowest life expectancy of any other African country.

As a result of the colonial past, the 1% white population owned 60% of the arable land across the country. This prompted Mugabe to began a land reform program. The program initially had the backing of international governments, but as a result of Mugabe’s dictator like rule, and a number of other factors getting in the way, the international support eventually dwindled. Soon afterwards, the government passed an act that allowed them to forcefully redistribute the land which led to economic turmoil.

The documentary focuses on the story of a white African family trying to hold onto their farm against the government redistribution. A pattern soon developed that only white farm owners were targeted for redistribution, and that the land was being given to influential people in government, rather than to qualified farmers. While the land redistribution might have been a good idea at first, the system was perverted by Mugabe which led to more harm than good. 

In the documentary, Mike Campbell and Ben Freeth sue Mugabe’s government over what they perceive as an unjust attempt to evict them from the land that they rightfully purchased and have lived on for the last twenty years. It paints an interesting picture of racism against the remaining white farmers who are still perceived to exploit the country by much of the populace. It is worth noting that the white rule in the country before independence was crippling to the native Africans, and that it would take a lot to make up for the injustices they committed. At the same time, the documentary shows a side of the argument that the injustices are now against the whites, and even if colonialism was devastating in the past, it would be hypocritical to continue the cycle of racism.

All in all, I would highly recommend the documentary. It begins and becomes heart wrenching not too far in. As you get later in the film, it tears you apart with a shocking turn of events. The final few court scenes when the fate of the family is being decided are more intense than any courtroom drama that I have ever seen, and will keep you at the edge of your seat waiting to see the outcome. I won’t reveal the ending, or what has happened since the documentary was released as I don’t want to ruin it. Give it a watch, and see what you think.

On a side note as a fun fact for those boy scouts out there, Zimbabwe has a very active organization.