Empowering or disempowering? archives as a tool to support or hinder land restitution in South Africa

Abstract

Archives have become acceptable evidence in the context of land restitution to prove events that occurred in the past during land dispossessions. However, some researchers contend that archives are not always available and accessible when restitution claimants seek them due to loss, restrictions and lack of intellectual control. The purpose of this study was to explore archives as a tool to support or hinder land restitution in South Africa. This qualitative study used snowball sampling to select participants from restitution claimants, while purposive sampling was used to select project officers at the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (CRLR) and archivists at the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (NARSSA), respectively. Data were collected through interviews. The key finding indicates that there are a large number of unresolved land claims to redress land dispossession injustices caused by missing records, language barriers, unclassified information and access restrictions. The study concludes by arguing that archives can empower the claimants if available and accessible, while, on the other hand, they can disempower the claimants if unavailable and inaccessible.