Urban land restitution in Cape Town: demanding the return of land rights in Constantia and Kensington/Ndabeni
Urban land restitution in Cape Town: demanding the return of land rights in Constantia and Kensington/Ndabeni

Summary/Abstract: One of the hallmark policies implemented post-apartheid, the Restitutionof Land Rights Act 22 of 1994, is a rights-based program aimed at addressingthe loss of land resulting from past racially discriminatory laws or practices.The aim of this research was to identify what are the factors that determine thedifferent outcomes of the restitution process when claimants are demanding thereturn of land rights and to highlight the challenges regarding the implementationof this land restitution policy. Focusing on two specific yet contrasting areasin Cape Town, Constantia and Kensington, it was determined that due to factorspertaining to the lands in question, the neighborhood surrounding the lands, theclaimants, as well as the organization, function, and performance of different publicentities, the policy has managed to fulfill restorative justice, but has yet to fulfillits ultimate goal of returning land rights to the claimants and undoing the injusticesof the apartheid regime.

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