Traditional authorities, legal power and land disputes in north-west Namibia

Abstract

This study considers the revitalisation of traditional authorities, a phenomenon found throughout modern Africa. It analyses and compares court cases involving land disputes amongst herders living in north-western Namibia. Since the 1990s, African nations have pursued land reform to stabilise and clarify the rights of land users in customary lands. Prior research indicates that traditional authorities, created during colonialism, have been able to maintain their influence since they were granted land-related authority under national legal systems. The cases presented in this article illustrate how the “rights and powers” of traditional authorities over land have not only been legally recognised by a national government, here that of Namibia, but have undergone development through the novel concepts of community-based natural resource management.