The Right to Land Restitution as Inspiration for Mobilisation

This chapter is an initial exploration and sharing of experiences and ideas based largely on a case study of a group of small farmers who have occupied and are producing on land that they believe they have an historical right to. The group, called Mahlahluvani – although they include people from other communities and claimant groups – are part of a land claim that has been lodged on the land they now occupy, but the claim is not yet settled. I open with an account of a day with one of these farmers and then give an overview of the occupation and the extent and nature of the production at Mahlahluvani. Reference to other cases, Davhana and the Vukeyas, show that the Mahlahluvani experience is not a unique phenomenon. I then explore lessons from these experiences for five key issues in land reform: the nature of production; leadership; conflict; people-driven land reform; and debates on the property clause in the Constitution.