An African jurisprudential perspective on land and property

Abstract

The mini dissertation explores an African jurisprudential perspective on land and property. The investigation is situated in the historical context of colonisation and apartheid as well as the present post-1994 debates on land and section 25 of the Constitution. It shows how African jurisprudence could respond to the way in which colonial modernity has affected the way we relate to, understand and use land (that is, how African jurisprudence could challenge the commodification of land).

Chapter 2 looks at the historical context of land dispossession and land reform in South Africa. It starts with the pre-colonial period then moves to conquest and dispossession by the Dutch and British and their perceptions on land. It also deals with the internal colonisation by Afrikaners under the apartheid, its impact, the transition and ends with the Constitution and Land Reform Programme.

Chapter three deals with the core tenets of the African jurisprudence. It addresses the question of African Jurisprudence and Ubuntu. It then moves to cover African Cosmology, Justice, Traditional Leadership, and Communalism.

Chapter four deals with ways in which African jurisprudence can disclose an alternative vision of land and property through the Decolonisation of the Constitution, history and integration of Traditional Leadership and Governance.

The chapter 5 deals with the conclusion and recommendations.

The last chapter is the bibliography.