- Senior Bolabedu royal member Professor Mathole Motshekga wants village, district and royal courts to settle kingship, land and community fights.
- He says South Africa’s court system ignores African customs and shuts out poor rural people.
Senior Bolabedu royal member Professor Mathole Motshekga wants traditional courts to deal with kingship, land and community fights.
The former Gauteng premier told Scrolla.Africa that ordinary courts often do not understand African customs when dealing with royal disputes.
He said South Africa’s legal system is largely based on Roman-Dutch law, which came from Europe.
Motshekga wants three levels of traditional courts.
Village courts would be led by headmen, district courts by chiefs and royal courts by kings and queens.
He said royal courts should make the final decision in kingship and other traditional disputes.
Motshekga said colonial governments weakened African courts and forced communities to take appeals to magistrates who did not understand their customs.
He also called for universities to teach more African customary law.
Motshekga strongly criticised the Traditional Courts Act of 2022, saying it still follows European laws instead of African ways of solving disputes.
He also said online court systems shut out poor rural people who may not have electricity, internet or easy access to court information.
Motshekga believes royal fights over who should take a throne would be handled better by judges who understand each kingdom’s customs.
The traditional courts law has faced years of debate.
When it was first proposed in 2008, activists including Nomboniso Gasa warned that it could give traditional leaders too much power over women and children.
Supporters, including late Zulu prime minister Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, said it would return powers taken from rural communities under colonial rule.
The law was passed in 2022.
Pictured above: Professor Mathole Motshekga wants traditional courts to handle royal, land and community disputes.
Image source: University of Limpopo
