Learning from South Africa: Lessons for Catholic Churches in Africa on Land Redistribution
Abstract
Land redistribution remains one of the most critical challenges across Africa, shaped by colonial legacies, post-independence neglect, and ongoing inequality. While many African states struggle with reform, faith-based institutions—especially Catholic Churches—hold both moral authority and land assets that could contribute to just redistribution. This article draws on the South African Catholic Church’s experience between 1994–2025, enriched by recent scholarly work and current events, to extract lessons for Catholic Churches elsewhere in Africa. Additional case studies, including Mozambique and Uganda, are included to provide comparative insights. The lessons emphasise aligning land reform with theological principles, integrating livelihoods and post-settlement support, ensuring legal clarity, transparent governance, confronting historical complicity, balancing institutional needs with justice, and establishing effective partnerships with state and civil society. The article concludes with policy, theological, and practical recommendations for Church leadership across Africa.
1. Introduction
Land is one of the most contested and symbolically charged resources in Africa. It is not merely a material asset, but a locus of cultural identity, spiritual meaning, and socio-economic livelihood. The historical processes of colonial conquest and missionary expansion often resulted in large-scale alienation of land from African communities, producing patterns of dispossession and inequality that persist in the present (Mlambo, 2024). In many countries, including South Africa, land has become the emblematic issue through which broader struggles for justice, reconciliation, and development are played out.
The Catholic Church occupies a distinctive position within this landscape. On the one hand, the Church is among the largest non-state landowners in several African countries, holding extensive properties for parishes, schools, health facilities, and agricultural projects. On the other hand, it is also a moral and prophetic voice, called by Catholic Social Teaching (CST) to witness to justice, the dignity of all people, and the universal destination of the earth’s goods (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 2004). This dual role creates both opportunities and tensions: the Church’s institutional interests may conflict with its moral commitments, but precisely because of its visibility and authority, the Church can model creative and just approaches to land reform.
In South Africa, the transition from apartheid to democracy in 1994 placed land reform at the centre of the national agenda. The state committed itself to a threefold programme: restitution (returning land to those dispossessed after 1913), redistribution (providing land to the landless and historically disadvantaged), and tenure reform (securing the rights of those living under precarious arrangements). Within this framework, the Catholic Church undertook its own process of self-examination. A national land audit, commissioned by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), mapped Church holdings and identified properties that could be transferred or redistributed to communities (Lephoto, 2020). Subsequent years saw a variety of diocesan initiatives, in which Church land was either restituted to claimants, redistributed for community development, or leased under new arrangements.
These efforts were neither uniform nor unproblematic. In some cases, redistribution projects were accompanied by training, infrastructure development, and donor support, resulting in sustainable livelihoods and strengthened community relations. In others, however, poor governance, lack of legal clarity, or inadequate support led to conflict and disillusionment (Lephoto, 2020). Moreover, as recent debates about “expropriation without compensation” and racial reconciliation illustrate, the Church continues to navigate contested terrain, balancing institutional preservation with public witness (SACBC, 2025).
The significance of the South African case lies not only in its national context, but in the broader lessons it offers for Catholic Churches across Africa. In countries such as Uganda and Mozambique, the Church has recently faced disputes and contestations over its landholdings. In Wakiso District, Uganda, confusion over a donated property that was never properly transferred into Church title has generated public controversy (Sunrise Uganda, 2025). In Nampula, Mozambique, Church leaders have decried illegal occupations of Church land and the construction of mosques on such sites, highlighting the vulnerability of ecclesial property in contexts of weak state enforcement (Catholic News Agency, 2025). These cases show that questions of legal clarity, community participation, and Church-state relations are not unique to South Africa, but form part of a continental pattern.
This article seeks to draw out the lessons that other Catholic Churches in Africa can learn from the South African experience of land redistribution. By situating the South African case within broader theological and historical debates, and by engaging comparative insights from Uganda and Mozambique, the article highlights how Churches can act as agents of justice in contexts marked by inequality and dispossession. Specifically, it argues that Catholic Churches in Africa should: (1) ground their land policies in Catholic Social Teaching; (2) ensure legal clarity and transparent governance of land holdings; (3) undertake voluntary redistribution as a form of prophetic witness; (4) integrate livelihood support and training into redistribution initiatives; (5) balance institutional needs with justice claims; (6) build partnerships with state agencies and civil society; and (7) confront their historical complicity in colonial landholding.
The methodology of the article is primarily qualitative and theological, drawing on a review of published scholarship (e.g., Lephoto, 2020; Mlambo, 2024), Church policy documents (SACBC, 2025), and recent reports of land disputes in Uganda and Mozambique. The argument is not that South Africa provides a ready-made template for all African contexts, but that its experience illustrates both pitfalls and possibilities from which others can learn.
The remainder of the article proceeds as follows. Section 2 reviews relevant literature and the theological framework provided by Catholic Social Teaching. Section 3 analyses the South African Catholic Church’s land redistribution efforts since 1994. Section 4 presents comparative case studies from Uganda and Mozambique. Section 5 distils the key lessons for Catholic Churches across Africa. Section 6 offers practical and policy recommendations, and Section 7 concludes with reflections on the Church’s ongoing vocation as steward, witness, and agent of reconciliation in the matter of land.
2. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework
2.1 Land and Justice in Africa
The question of land has been central to African political economy since the colonial encounter. Colonial regimes typically seized fertile land, concentrated ownership in settler hands, and relegated African communities to reserves, communal areas, or degraded land (Okoth-Ogendo, 1991). These patterns persisted after independence, often reinforced by weak land tenure systems, elite capture, and inadequate redistribution programmes. In South Africa, the 1913 Land Act epitomised racial dispossession, limiting African land ownership to a fraction of the territory. The legacy of this history is evident today in extreme inequality in landholding and spatial segregation (Mlambo, 2024).
Beyond South Africa, many African states have struggled to implement meaningful land reform. In Zimbabwe, radical land seizures in the 2000s sought to reverse colonial patterns but resulted in economic disruption and contested legitimacy (Scoones, 2010). In Mozambique, socialist collectivisation gave way to market-oriented tenure reforms, yet land insecurity persists. In Uganda, plural legal systems (customary, statutory, religious) overlap, creating uncertainty and conflict (Place, 2009). These cases illustrate that land reform is never merely technical; it is deeply entangled with history, identity, politics, and justice.
Churches have been largely absent from the mainstream literature on African land reform, which focuses on state policies and donor interventions. Yet religious institutions are major landholders, and their role in either reinforcing or challenging unjust structures deserves more attention. The South African Catholic Church’s land audit and restitution efforts (Lephoto, 2020) represent one of the most systematic attempts by a faith-based institution to address its own land legacy.
2.2 Catholic Social Teaching on Land
Catholic Social Teaching (CST) offers a robust framework for engaging questions of land, property, and justice. At its core is the principle of the universal destination of goods: “God intended the earth with everything contained in it for the use of all human beings and peoples” (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 2004, p. 171). Private property is recognised, but it is not absolute; it carries a social mortgage and must serve the common good (John Paul II, 1987, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, §42).
The preferential option for the poor underscores that decisions about land must prioritise those who are landless, marginalised, or historically dispossessed (Gutierrez, 1973). The principles of solidarity and subsidiarity further shape CST: solidarity demands recognition of interdependence and responsibility for others, while subsidiarity affirms the role of local communities and institutions in decision-making. Together, these principles imply that the Church, as a landowner, has a responsibility to use its resources for justice and the empowerment of communities, not merely for institutional maintenance.
Pope Francis has reinforced these themes, calling land “a fundamental right” alongside labour and lodging (Francis, 2014, Address to Popular Movements). In Laudato Si’, he links land use to ecological stewardship and intergenerational justice (Francis, 2015). CST therefore provides not only theological justification but also practical criteria for evaluating how the Church engages in land redistribution.
2.3 The Church as Landowner and Moral Agent
The Catholic Church’s historical involvement in landholding is ambivalent. Missionaries often acquired land under colonial regimes, sometimes as gifts from colonial authorities, sometimes through purchase, and often without consultation with local communities. As a result, the Church has benefited from systems of dispossession, even while preaching justice (Hastings, 1994). This complicity has been acknowledged in South Africa, where Church leaders have admitted the Church’s role in benefiting from apartheid structures (Lephoto, 2020).
At the same time, the Church possesses unique moral capital. Its teachings on justice, its grassroots presence, and its ability to mobilise communities give it a distinctive voice. When the Church voluntarily redistributes land, it models a prophetic witness that goes beyond legal compliance to embody the Gospel’s call to justice and reconciliation. Conversely, when the Church clings to land defensively or engages in opaque governance, it risks undermining its moral authority.
The literature on religion and development increasingly recognises that faith-based organisations can be key actors in land and resource justice (Rakodi, 2015). However, systematic theological and empirical studies of Church land redistribution remain scarce. South Africa provides a rare case where Church action has been documented, studied, and critiqued (Lephoto, 2020; Mlambo, 2024). Extending this analysis to other African contexts, such as Uganda and Mozambique, allows for broader theorisation of the Church’s role as both landowner and moral agent.
2.4 Theoretical Framework
This article draws on a theological-political economy framework that integrates CST with insights from land reform studies. The framework rests on three key propositions:
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Property as Stewardship: Land is not an absolute possession but a gift entrusted for stewardship. Churches, as corporate owners, must discern how best to use land for the common good.
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Justice as Reconciliation: Land redistribution is not merely economic; it is also a process of healing historical wounds and building relationships of justice, echoing biblical motifs of Jubilee (Lev. 25).
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Institutional Ambivalence: The Church is both complicit in structures of inequality and capable of prophetic resistance. This ambivalence requires critical self-reflection, transparency, and accountability.
By applying this framework, the article interprets South Africa’s Church land redistribution as a theological practice with broader implications for African Churches. It also provides a lens to evaluate the Uganda and Mozambique cases, showing how issues of documentation, governance, and partnership can be understood in theological as well as legal terms.
3. The South African Catholic Church Experience (1994–2025)
3.1 Historical Background
The Catholic Church in South Africa is one of the largest private landowners in the country, with properties acquired during the colonial and apartheid eras (Lephoto, 2020). Mission stations often received land grants from the state or purchased farms to sustain their operations. While this enabled the Church to provide schools, clinics, and parishes, it also embedded the institution within systems of exclusion. By the time of the democratic transition in 1994, the Church possessed thousands of hectares of land, some occupied by poor Black communities, others leased to commercial farmers, and others lying idle (Denis, 2012).
The end of apartheid created both opportunity and moral urgency. The state launched its land reform programme, yet progress was slow, bureaucratic, and contested. Within this context, the Catholic Church began to reflect critically on its own holdings, asking whether retaining land for institutional purposes was compatible with its social mission.
3.2 The Land Audit
In 1999, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) initiated a national land audit to establish a comprehensive record of Church properties (Lephoto, 2020). This was a groundbreaking exercise, since many dioceses had no clear documentation of their assets, and legal titles were often in the names of missionary orders rather than diocesan structures. The audit revealed not only the scale of holdings but also complex questions of governance, ownership, and accountability.
The land audit was significant for three reasons:
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It signalled the Church’s willingness to confront its historical complicity in land inequality.
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It created the administrative basis for redistribution, enabling identification of parcels suitable for restitution or development.
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It modelled a form of institutional transparency rarely seen in religious landholding in Africa.
3.3 Early Restitution and Partnerships
The first wave of redistribution in the early 2000s involved returning land to communities that had historical claims or where the Church’s presence was no longer necessary. For example, in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, mission farms were transferred to local trusts or cooperatives, often in collaboration with government programmes (Claassens & Cousins, 2008).
In some cases, land was donated directly to the state for restitution, while in others, the Church negotiated joint-use agreements, ensuring continued access for parishes while empowering local communities as primary custodians. These hybrid arrangements reflected both the complexity of land governance and the Church’s desire to remain engaged pastorally while ceding economic control.
3.4 Challenges and Critiques
Despite its symbolic significance, the process has not been without difficulties. Scholars note at least four recurring challenges:
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Documentation and Bureaucracy: Many properties lacked clear title deeds, delaying transfers and creating legal disputes (Lephoto, 2020).
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Capacity of Recipients: Communities often lacked the technical or financial means to utilise land productively, leading to cases of underuse (Walker, 2008).
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Internal Church Resistance: Some parishes and dioceses feared losing valuable assets, leading to uneven implementation across the country (Denis, 2012).
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Relationship with the State: While the government welcomed Church cooperation, bureaucratic inefficiencies slowed progress, and in some cases, land restitution became entangled in wider political debates (Hall, 2015).
Nevertheless, the voluntary nature of the Church’s initiative gave it credibility as a prophetic gesture, setting it apart from both state-driven and politically contested processes.
3.5 Recent Developments (2015–2025)
In the past decade, the Church has sought to move from ad hoc restitution to a more systematic approach. The SACBC’s Justice and Peace Department has facilitated workshops on land as a theological issue, linking redistribution to Catholic Social Teaching. Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ (2015) provided fresh impetus by connecting land justice with ecological responsibility.
Between 2018 and 2023, several dioceses piloted community-based agricultural projects on Church land, blending food security with empowerment. In KwaZulu-Natal, for instance, idle diocesan land was converted into smallholder plots managed by local cooperatives, supported by Caritas and international donors (Mlambo, 2024). These initiatives reflect a shift from mere restitution to developmental redistribution, where land serves as a platform for economic participation, ecological stewardship, and reconciliation.
By 2025, the SACBC had redistributed or repurposed a significant portion of its landholdings, though exact figures remain contested. What is clear is that the South African case demonstrates that religious institutions can act voluntarily and transparently in ways that both complement and critique state policies.
3.6 Lessons from the South African Case
Several key lessons emerge:
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Auditing is Essential: Redistribution cannot proceed without accurate records and legal clarity.
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Voluntarism Builds Moral Authority: The Church’s proactive role distinguished its action from state coercion or political populism.
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Partnerships are Necessary: Effective outcomes required collaboration with communities, government, and civil society.
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Redistribution Must Be Developmental: Returning land is not enough; capacity-building and sustainability are crucial.
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Theological Reflection Sustains Action: Framing land redistribution as a matter of faith, not only economics, motivated long-term commitment.
These lessons form the basis for comparative insights when examining other African contexts such as Uganda and Mozambique.
4. Comparative Lessons for Other African Catholic Churches
4.1 Uganda: The Challenge of Legal Pluralism and Customary Tenure
Uganda illustrates the complexities of land governance under plural legal systems. Land is regulated simultaneously by customary law, statutory frameworks, and religious ownership. Catholic dioceses in Uganda, especially in regions like Buganda and Northern Uganda, inherited significant parcels of land from missionary orders during the colonial period (Kibwika, 2016). Much of this land remains under customary occupation by local communities, creating disputes about ownership and use.
The Ugandan state has struggled to harmonise these systems. Customary tenure provides local legitimacy but often lacks formal recognition, while statutory reforms since the 1998 Land Act have aimed to create clarity but instead generated overlapping claims (Place, 2009). In this context, Church-owned land is often caught between customary rights-holders and diocesan administrators, producing tension and, in some cases, litigation.
For the Catholic Church in Uganda, the South African experience highlights the importance of:
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Conducting a systematic land audit to clarify the scale and status of Church holdings.
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Negotiating participatory arrangements with communities to avoid the perception of dispossession.
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Framing redistribution theologically, emphasising stewardship and justice, rather than simply as legal compliance.
Without these steps, Ugandan dioceses risk perpetuating historical grievances, undermining their pastoral mission.
4.2 Mozambique: Post-Conflict Reconstruction and State-Centered Land Policy
Mozambique presents a different but equally instructive case. Following independence in 1975, the socialist government nationalised land under the principle that land belongs to the state. The 1997 Land Law recognised customary use rights, but private ownership remains restricted. Within this framework, religious institutions—including the Catholic Church—hold land not as private property but as user rights granted by the state (Norfolk & Tanner, 2007).
The civil war (1977–1992) displaced millions, and many Church lands were abandoned or repurposed. Since peace, the Church has reclaimed some properties for parishes, schools, and clinics, but disputes have arisen with local communities who resettled during the war. In some cases, the Church has sought eviction, creating tensions with its pastoral identity as protector of the poor (Tanner, 2002).
Here, the South African example suggests alternative pathways:
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Voluntary recognition of community occupation, even when the state grants user rights to the Church.
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Partnership with local cooperatives to develop land in ways that serve both community livelihoods and Church mission.
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Transparent governance structures to prevent perceptions of elite capture or foreign influence.
In a context where the state remains the ultimate owner of land, the Church can distinguish itself by modelling participatory and reconciliatory practices.
4.3 Shared Challenges Across Contexts
Uganda and Mozambique differ in tenure systems—pluralistic versus statist—but both face challenges mirrored in South Africa:
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Documentation and Governance: Incomplete records create conflict and mistrust.
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Community Expectations: Local populations see Church land as part of their heritage, regardless of legal title.
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Internal Resistance: Dioceses may fear loss of assets critical for sustainability.
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State Relations: Governments may support or obstruct Church initiatives depending on political climate.
The South African case demonstrates that these challenges can be addressed through audit, transparency, partnerships, and theological grounding. These principles are not context-specific but provide a template adaptable across Africa.
4.4 Towards a Pan-African Catholic Approach
The comparative evidence suggests the need for a continental dialogue on Church landholding and justice. The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) could play a coordinating role, encouraging national bishops’ conferences to:
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Undertake land audits modelled on the SACBC process.
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Develop guidelines for redistribution grounded in Catholic Social Teaching.
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Share best practices on partnerships with local communities and ecological stewardship.
Such a coordinated effort would allow the Church in Africa to speak with a prophetic voice on one of the continent’s most pressing justice issues. It would also embody the Church’s mission to reconcile history with hope, modelling alternatives to both state-driven failures and populist extremes.
5. Conclusion and Recommendations
The South African Catholic Church’s land redistribution initiative demonstrates that religious institutions can play a prophetic and practical role in addressing one of Africa’s most enduring injustices. By voluntarily auditing, redistributing, and repurposing its land, the Church in South Africa not only aligned its practice with Catholic Social Teaching but also offered a living witness to reconciliation and justice in a deeply divided society.
The comparative review of Uganda and Mozambique underscores that while historical and legal contexts differ, the underlying issues are shared: contested tenure, community expectations, institutional resistance, and state involvement. South Africa’s example provides transferable insights that can guide Catholic Churches elsewhere on the continent.
5.1 Key Lessons
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Transparency through Audit
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Establishing an accurate record of Church land is indispensable.
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Without documentation, redistribution and accountability remain impossible.
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Voluntarism as Prophetic Witness
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The Church’s credibility lies in taking initiative beyond legal compulsion.
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Voluntary action distinguishes moral leadership from political expedience.
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Community-Centered Redistribution
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Land must be returned or repurposed in partnership with local communities.
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Capacity-building, not just transfer, ensures sustainability and empowerment.
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Integration of Theology and Practice
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Framing redistribution as stewardship, solidarity, and reconciliation sustains long-term commitment.
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Without theological grounding, land reform risks becoming managerial rather than transformative.
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Continental Collaboration
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Institutions such as SECAM can coordinate audits, policies, and shared learning.
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A pan-African framework would strengthen local initiatives and amplify prophetic impact.
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5.2 Recommendations for Catholic Churches in Africa
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Conduct national land audits in each episcopal conference, following the SACBC model.
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Develop pastoral guidelines on land redistribution, linking CST with local realities.
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Create joint Church–community trusts for sustainable use of redistributed land.
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Strengthen partnerships with Caritas, NGOs, and governments to provide training, resources, and monitoring.
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Institutionalise theological reflection on land, ensuring clergy and laity alike view property as a gift for stewardship.
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Promote ecological projects on Church land, aligning redistribution with Pope Francis’s call for integral ecology.
5.3 Final Reflections
Land reform is not only an economic or political challenge; it is a theological and moral one. For the Catholic Church in Africa, addressing its own landholdings offers both an opportunity and a responsibility. South Africa’s experience shows that a Church willing to confront its past, embrace transparency, and act in solidarity with the poor can transform land from a source of division into a sacrament of justice.
If taken up across the continent, such initiatives could mark the Catholic Church as a continental leader in restorative justice, embodying the Gospel in concrete ways and offering Africa—and the world—a model of how faith, history, and justice can converge on the land.
