South Africa: 28 Years Later, Thousands of Land Claims Are Still Outstanding

What the report says

South Africa still has thousands of land restitution cases awaiting finalisation nearly three decades after the first deadline to lodge claims, according to GroundUp, distributed by AllAfrica. The report says 5,160 “old order” claims remain outstanding, referring to claims submitted by December 1998. A constitutional ruling means these older claims must be processed before newer claims lodged in the later reopening of the claims window can be assessed.

The article says that at the current pace it could take at least another 15 years to resolve the backlog. It adds that more than 63,000 claims were lodged by the 1998 deadline, with later administrative changes and splitting of cases contributing to a larger total reported by government in subsequent years. As of 31 December 2025, the restitution process is said to have benefited about 2.4 million people and roughly 469,000 households, with at least R60-billion spent on claims settlement.

GroundUp also reports that the pace of settlements has slowed as available funding has declined, forcing lower annual targets. Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Mzwanele Nyhontso told Parliament that R2.5-billion is allocated for land claims in the 2026/27 financial year, with a target of 307 claims. The article says delays are linked to disputes over claim validity, landowners rejecting offers, communal land complications, court backlogs and limited staff. The issue remains significant because it affects long-running efforts to address apartheid-era dispossession and provide restitution or compensation.