Historic handover restores ancestral land after decades-long fight
A family dispossessed of their ancestral land nearly a century ago has finally had more than 627 hectares in Mpumalanga officially restored to them, in what the government has described as a powerful act of justice and healing.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile presided over the handover ceremony on Friday, during which the Mtshoeni/Mtsweni family — operating under the Schulk Marhiqa Communal Property Association (CPA) — received title deeds to the land that was seized from them around 1934 under apartheid-era legislation. Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development Mzwanele Nyhontso was also present at the event.
"The return of this land, therefore, embodies the restoration of identity, a sense of belonging, and opportunities for the family that was dispossessed," Deputy President Mashatile said.
The family first lodged their restitution claim in 1998, setting in motion a painstaking process spanning years of investigation, negotiation, and personal sacrifice. The roots of their connection to the land stretch back to the late 1700s, when the Mtshoeni family first settled in Grootvlei. Under the leadership of Schulk Ngazimbi Marhiqa Mtshoeni, the family farmed extensively and prosperously before the Natives Land Act of 1913 enabled their removal and the allocation of their property to the Frans Herbs family.
Mashatile recounted how Marhiqa was once regarded as among the most accomplished farmers in the area, cultivating maize and corn while rearing large herds of cattle and sheep. Following the seizure of the farm around 1934, the Herbs family struck an arrangement to grow crops with profits divided equally. The devastating consequences of the Native Land Act saw Marhiqa's descendants reduced to farm labourers, stripped of their livestock and denied their rightful inheritance — a fate mirrored across countless indigenous communities subjected to systematic land dispossession.
Agricultural revival and economic empowerment
The restored community is already demonstrating its farming capability, with the Schulk Marhiqa CPA cultivating 100 hectares of maize and 30 hectares of soybeans, in addition to keeping livestock. With backing from the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development and partners including the South African Grain Farmers Association (SAGRA), Mashatile expressed confidence that the community is well-placed to flourish.
"Government is pleased that post-settlement support has provided tractors, planters, trailers and livestock. More importantly, it has created jobs, built skills, and opened pathways for youth and women to participate in agriculture. This is economic empowerment in action," he said.
On a national level, the government continues to strengthen community land governance through Communal Property Associations. President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Communal Property Associations Amendment Bill on 9 October 2024, updating the 1996 legislation to bolster the rights of CPA members and clarify that land ownership vests in the resident members themselves rather than the associations as entities. The Deputy President noted that the government is harnessing land redistribution to correct historical wrongs while simultaneously boosting agricultural output, invigorating rural economies, and creating employment through the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme.
"As we hand over these title deeds, we affirm that South Africa belongs to all who live in it. We affirm that dignity denied can be dignity restored. And we affirm that the promise of our Constitution, to heal the divisions of the past and build a united, prosperous future, is alive here in Grootvlei, and it will continue to spread across all corners of South Africa," the Deputy President said.
Mashatile stressed that every hectare returned represents both a step towards healing and living proof that justice has been served. He described each title deed as a covenant between the democratic state and its citizens, and praised the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights for three decades of work as a cornerstone of transformation. Friday's ceremony, he said, stands as compelling evidence that restitution is practical, empowering, and integral to the project of nation-building.
The restoration of 627 hectares to the Mtshoeni family carries significance beyond one household, signalling progress in South Africa's broader land restitution programme affecting millions of dispossessed families. For Mpumalanga's rural economy, the family's active cultivation of maize and soybeans demonstrates how land reform can drive agricultural productivity and job creation. With recently amended Communal Property Associations legislation strengthening governance, similar claims may gain momentum, though the pace of restitution remains a persistent concern for communities still awaiting resolution.
