Massive victory for rural democracy – Constitutional Court strikes down TKLA

On 30 May 2023, the Constitutional Court of South Africa declared the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019 as being invalid.

The Court found that Parliament failed to comply with its constitutional obligation to facilitate public involvement before passing the Act. The order of invalidity has been suspended for 24 months to enable Parliament to re-enact the statute in a manner that is consistent with the Constitution.

The application was brought by an alliance of land-rights activists, land-rights organisations and communities directly affected by the Act who challenged the way Parliament conducted public participation during the law-making process.

Click here to download the full press statement by Stop the Bantustans Campaign.

Click here to download the full judgement.

Click here to access the full judgement online on the SAFLII website.

Click here to access the LARC vignette, "Rural voices matter – victory in the Constitutional Court."