SA land should remain in conquerors' hands - Mbeki

'My brothers don't have farming skills'

- By Tshwarelo eseng Mogakane

Black economic empowerment critic Moeletsi Mbeki has sparked a fresh storm over South Africa's land question, boldly declaring that the country's urban millions rely on the agricultural prowess of those who came by their land via conquest.

In a move that's sure to raise eyebrows and tempers alike, Mbeki suggested there's little justification for reversing the historical dispossession of black South Africans through land reform or expropriation.

Speaking at a seminar hosted by Durban's Xubera Institute for Research and Development - a black-owned, non-partisan think tank founded by fellow analyst Xolani Dube - Mbeki didn’t mince his words about who really holds the keys to South Africa's food security.

“The land was conquered from the indigenous African population by the colonists from Europe. Nobody disputes that. That is one aspect of the land. It is part of our history,” he told the audience.

“If you have the gun and the muscle, you can conquer it back if that's what you want to do. You want to open another war to conquer that land back from the present owners? Well, that's scenario number one.”