President Ramaphosa to lead Kwamkwanazi land restitution celebration

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Sunday, 14 October 2018, hand over 4 586 hectares of land to the community of KwaMkwanazi in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, at a ceremony to mark the successful transfer of land and ownership to the community following a land claim.

The KwaMkwanazi community was forcibly removed from their land in three phases following the enactment of the 1913 Land Act. From 1915 to 1918 the first group of dispossession took place to the KwaMkhwanazi people, their dispossession was a result of returning World War I white   soldiers. The second phase of dispossession took place in the 1940s, when the white farming community expanded their commercial interests in timber and cane.

At the height of apartheid supremacy the government of the time between 1958 and 1960 violently removed landowners to cater for the expansion of the white community around Richards Bay and the Mthunzini coast.

As part of government’s programme of land reform and restitution, the affected community submitted claims for the return of land administered by the King Cetshwayo District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. The community’s successful claim will see 1 656 claimants regain ownership of their ancestral land.  

The KwaMkwanazi community will be given full ownership of land that was dispossessed and which includes portions of Portdunford, Umlalazi, Gage and the Umhlathuzi and Mthunzini farms.

President Cyril Ramaphosa undertook in the State of the Nation Address of February 2018 that land reform and restitution will be pursued in a manner that is effective, constitutional and sustainable.

The KwaMkwanazi community will receive title deeds as well as post-settlement packages and support that will assist the community in leveraging the potential wealth of the land. The support packages will enable sustainable management of the land, the creation of employment opportunities and the alleviation of poverty.  

Details of the celebration are as follows:

Date: Sunday, 14 October 2018
Time: 10:00
Venue: King BhekuZulu Hall, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa Campus

Media are advised to RSVP to Khutjo Sebata on khutjos@gmail.com or 079 898 4621 with their full identity details – ID or passport number, name of media house and job title, to secure accreditation.


Media enquiries:  Khusela Diko, Spokesperson to the President on 072 854 5707

Issued by: The Presidency 
Pretoria