Forced removal and the struggle for land and labour in South Africa: the Ngomane of Tenbosch, 1926–1954

Abstract

This paper is about the forced removal of an African community in the Transvaal lowveld, South Africa. It argues that while the broad contours of forced removals in South Africa were similar, the struggle by communities to retain access to land and control over their labour was regionally variable and resistant to broad generalization. The paper also suggests that the role of the state in rural transformation is more complex and that the forced relocation of rural Africans cannot be reduced to a struggle between African peasants and a monolithic apartheid state. Finally, the case study reveals that a crucial, yet hidden, component of forced removals involves the redefinition and re-conquest of space. By way of conclusion, several broader themes on rural transformation in South Africa are discussed. [1]