Jubilee as Restoration of Eco-Relationality: A Decolonial Theological Critique of ‘Land Expropriation without Compensation’ in South Africa

Abstract

This article engages with the question of land in South Africa based on the jubilee notion, from a decolonial theological perspective. It shifts the focus from debating the merits of ‘expropriation of land without compensation’ towards assessing the relations of power that determine and legitimate what constitutes the human relationship to the land. It argues that disruption in eco-relationality wrought by colonial-apartheid is a foundational factor of the land struggles in post-apartheid South Africa. In order to promote land justice, there is a need to liberate the land from apartheid through reclaiming African and Christian notions of land as belonging to God.