Abstract
Access to land is still ideal for the majority of sub-Saharan Africans. The colonisers of Africa created the problem of access to land that indigenous Africans are still at pains with. The post-colonial African elite is still perpetuating this problem. The church benefited from the creation of this problem and sit at the table of privileged owners of vast pieces of land. This article is written from the perspective of someone who lives and serves in a sub-Saharan community of poverty. He is been observing local churches with vast pieces of land, limiting access to members only. In the meantime, the population around the church is confined in small spaces of land as family units. This article uses a biblical interpretive framework of Jerimiah 29:7 to stress about the role of the church as a peace agent that creates a shalom community around it. Such as community will be a hybrid between a Eurocentric view on land which value ownership with a title deed, and an Afrocentric view which values access of land to all without the need for individual ownership.
Highlights
The colonial history of Africa created a problem of access to land that indigenous Africans are still at pains with
The minority of people still own the majority of land through title deeds, a Eurocentric view of land based on private ownership, while the landless are still hoping their respective governments would redistribute equitably the land so that they could have access to their birth right inheritance from their Creator and their ancestors (Afrocentric view)
Christianity came to Africa as a partner with the colonial enterprise and embraced a Eurocentric view of land while preaching the message of altruistic love which resonated with the African value in mutual solidarity which translates into shared land access
Summary
The colonial history of Africa created a problem of access to land that indigenous Africans are still at pains with. Many scholars have reflected on it and have given their opinions of the matter (Bolnick and van Rensburg 2005; Resane, 2019; Maathai, 2009; Muzenda 2020:4) They point out to the need for equity and justice that many Africans do not experience yet. Some “denominations still own the land that was given to them” by colonising governments and existing African governments (Resane 2019:2) These historical facts place the church as a privileged role player in the current conversation on access to land in sub-Saharan Africa. Ownership to be a blessing to communities of the landless It asks: how can the church participate in the democratisation of access to land?
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