By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa handed over title deeds to communities and families dispossessed of their land under colonial and apartheid rule in Umzimkulu, KwaZulu-Natal on Friday.
Ramaphosa was nearly disrupted by a group of disgruntled community members.
The group held up placards raising various concerns related to land ownership and compensation for apartheid era atrocities.
Protesters attempted to charge towards the podium, but public order police officers entered the venue and intercepted the group.
The KZN government has since called on the president to ensure that all former dispossessed people are helped across the province.
Ramaphosa described the occasion as both a celebration and a moment of profound historical significance.
“Today is a day for celebration. It is culmination of a long journey,” the President said, acknowledging the resilience of communities who had waited years, in some cases generations, for justice.
He emphasised that the handover was about more than legal ownership.
“We are gathered not just to give you the title deeds to your ancestral land; we are here to restore the dignity and belonging that was taken from you through a great injustice and suffering,” he said.
Ramaphosa located the dispossession within South Africa’s painful history, pointing to laws such as the Natives Land Act, which systematically stripped black South Africans of their land, livelihoods and identity.
Describing land dispossession as the “original sin” that continues to shape inequality, the President said the return of land must translate into meaningful economic change.
“Restored land must translate to sustainable development. It must be a vehicle for upliftment, for poverty alleviation and for job creation.”
“We call on the Communal Property Associations to use the financial benefits from this land restitution to develop their communities and to ensure that this prosperity is shared by all, “he said.
The President said the handover of these title deeds on the eve of Human Rights Day reminds the nation that achieving our freedom was about far more than rights on paper.
“It was and remains about advancing human dignity and building an economy and society that benefits all,” he said.
In total, around 18 000 hectares of land has been restored to approximately 2 800 beneficiaries across the four claims, including more than 500 women-headed households.