SA Court Grants Nama Tribe Return to Ancestral Land
October 10, 07
The Nama tribe, a South-African goat-herding community forced off its diamond-rich land in the early part of the 20th century to make room for mineral mining, won the land back, following a recent court ruling that ended South Africa’s longest running court case.
In the 1920s the tribe was relocated after mineral rights were awarded to Alexkor Ltd., a state-run diamond mining company set up in 1927 as a work program for poor whites, according to an Associated Press report. In their relocation environment, the tribal group was plagued by unemployment and social problems like alcoholism.
The Nama lodged their claim to the land, part of
Despite the fact that the compensation sum was much less than what the tribe originally sought ($329 million), they still expressed satisfaction with the outcome. “I am overwhelmed with joy. I can’t hold back my tears,” community leader Willem Diergaardt told the South African Press Association. “To wait 80 years for your land is not easy.”
Under the terms of the court order, to which all parties agreed, all of Alexkor’s obligations, including rehabilitation for years of environmental damage, will now be underwritten by the state. The mining company and the Nama will form a joint-mining venture, in which Alexkor will hold interest of 51 percent.
The event comes in the midst of the government’s attempt to speed the return of land to communities removed from their ancestral lands during white rule. “The community is entitled to a better life, and this court order puts that within their reach,” commented Judge Antonie Gildenhuys of the Land Claims Court.