The transfer of township rental houses to inhabitants did not necessarily give families greater security. “Family houses” were frequently acquired by individuals.
The Ingonyama Trust has been accused of illegal practices in rural villages in KwaZulu-Natal.
Hoberman Collection/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
David Anaafo, University of Energy and Natural Resources
Reforms to land policies and regulations are enabling the traditional custodians of the land in Ghana to transfer ownership. Communal land users could lose their basic rights.
The Customary Senate, Nouméa, New Caledonia.
Eddie Wadrawane
It’s important to understand that a First Nations consultative body such as the Customary Senate doesn’t pose a ‘threat’ to democracy or the rule of law.
Prince Misuzulu, second from the left, attends the provincial memorial service for his mother, the late Mantfombi Dlamini, at the Khangelakamankegane Royal Palace in Nongoma, in May 2021.
AFP via Getty Images
When judges, legislators, and policymakers neglect the foundational dynamics of indigenous customs, they worsen conflict between indigenous laws and state laws.
Rural Eastern Cape
Susan Winters Cook/Getty Images
Denying people the right to opt out of the traditional court system conflicts with the notion of customary law as a voluntary and consensual system of law.
Conflicts between nomadic livestock farmers and crop farmers are common in Ghana.
Stefan Heunis/AFP via Getty Images
South Africa’s rural communities where mining licenses have been granted are often excluded from consultations and bear the brunt having their environment and livelihoods destroyed.
Traditional leaders listen to a speech by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s in Makhanda, Eastern Cape.
EPA-EFE/Elmond Jiyane
The contested law also defines the jurisdiction of traditional leaders in terms of territory. But traditional community boundaries are actually set by personal relationships.
A Xolobeni villager protesting against mine development.
Flickr/Patricia Alejandro
Conservationists need to assess costs which allow for the adequate compensation of communities on protected lands, whose livelihoods are deeply entwined with forest use.