By Ohene Yaw Ampofo-Anti
6 June 2018
The Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled that traditional fishers do not need a permit to fish in the Dwesa-Cwebe Nature Reserve. Photo: Ben Bezuidenhout via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
28 May 2018
The Royal Bafokeng Nation (RBN) is a tribal community of approximately 300,000 people. RBN applied to court for an order declaring that it is the owner of 60 properties in North-West Province.
RBN asked for this order because, according to the title deeds, the properties are being held by the Minister of Land Affairs “in trust for” the RBN. RBN contended however, that there was no trust relationship between it and the Minister and it was the outright owner of the properties.
The South African Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs gazetted on 16 March 2018 a notice of intention to introduce the Customary Initiation Bill, 2018 in the National Assembly.
The main objectives of the Bill are—
(a) to protect, promote and regulate initiation;
(b) to provide acceptable norms and standards with a view to ensure that initiation takes place in a controlled and safe environment; and
(c) to provide for the protection of life and the prevention of any abuse
