Restitution and Land Issues in South Africa: Biblical and Ethical considerations based on the Jubilee year in Leviticus 25

Abstract

The question of land is indeed a vexing one in contemporary South Africa. White control of land and the unequal distribution thereof was one of the pillars of the apartheid system. During colonial rule and under apartheid, numerous communities were simply expelled from their land. The Land Act of 1913 had a diabolical effect in dislocating communities and separated people from their traditional inheritance and from each other. Dispossession of land by its original inhabitants in waves of incessant forced removals proved to be highly distressing and ultimately led to enduring poverty for the masses. It is important in our predominantly Christian society to atone for past ills and to redress some of the ills relating to land which were in fact human rights abuses, by considering inter alia, Leviticus 25 as a starting point. Thus, a Christian stance is considered to be important from both a biblical and ethical perspective as land dispossession due to inhuman laws is addressed. We are stressing the fact that only in a liberating relationship with God can we consider and apply human rights and that in African thought social issues are viewed from a communitarian perspective in which the common good takes precedence.