A new tyranny of tribalism is looming

Author: Thuto Thipe

Many of the Traditional and Khoisan Leadership Bill’s core features are much older than they appear to be from the proposed legislation’s text. The primary “traditional” institutions and leadership positions on which the bill relies for implementation were introduced in legislation 1927.Under the bill, the tribes and chiefs created by the Black Administration Act would be known as traditional communities and senior traditional leaders.

One of the key objections to the Traditional Courts Bill during Parliament’s 2008 and 2012 public hearings was that it would perpetuate apartheid geographies. This was one of the reasons why the bill was not passed.

Given the Traditional and Khoisan Leadership Bill’s reliance on this same geographic jurisdiction, these boundaries and the old tribal model that puts traditional leaders at the centre of the exercising of power will probably be opposed when public hearings begin next month.

 

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