The Role of Traditional Leaders in South Africa : A Relic of the Past , or a Contemporary Reality ?

Abstract

The role of traditional leaders has been viewed as an anomaly in the postapartheid democratic political dispensation. Their presence cannot be denied. A large percentage of particularly rural communities accept their existence and their authority within the context of tribal traditional government and justice. Initiatives have been launched to integrate their existence and continued influence into the current political system. A point of departure has been their description in chapter 12 of the South African Constitution (Act 108 of 1996). Various political and community leaders have expressed their support for the system of traditional leaders as a binding factor in preserving the traditions of the various indigenous peoples of South Africa.