The rights to own land and to live and work at a place of choice were circumscribed by apartheid. Legislation that preceded the period reflected in this material includes the 1913 Natives Land Act. It prescribed areas for land ownership according to race. In many instances black landowners and tenants were forced off their land. The Natives Act of 1923 segregated ownership of urban land, allocating areas on the periphery of towns and cities for black townships or locations. Later the Prevention of Illegal Squatters Act of 1951 laid the basis for the removal of people occupying land illegally.

Kairos campaigns that dealt with land issues include:

1977 Crossroads See 1.2.6.1.8. and 1.2.6.3.

1981 Slegs vir Swartes See 1.2.5.

1982 'Stop forced removals in South Africa.

Campaign against removal of the Nyanga Bush people. See 1.2.6.1.4. and 1.2.6.3.

Focus on Ciskei bus boycott. See 1.1.1.1.

1983-1984 Trial of S Mkhatswha in the Ciskei. See 1.1.2.1.1.

1984 Campaign Kaapstad wanhoopt (cry of despair). Threatened removal of residents from Crossroads, Nyanga, to Khayelitsha. See 1.2.5.1.10., 1.2.6.1.4., 1.2.6.1.8., 1.2.6.1.9., and 1.2.6.3.

1991 Campaigns against the removal of residents of Goedgevonden. Support for the land claims of the people from Elandskloof. See 1.4.3.3.

1992 Support for Vastenaktie project, AFRA. See 1.5.2.9.

1993 Special Amandla about land issues. See 1.3.1.3.2. Investigation by Mirjam van Donk about the church in relationship to land issues. See 1.3.2.3. and 1.4.7.

Subjects include homelands, resettlements, informal settlements, squatters, resistance, land and labour legislation, boycotts, migrant workers, agriculture and labour.

Unpublished material may only be quoted with the permission of the author.

The material dates from 1970 to 2001. Dates refer to the dates on the material. Some material, particularly from the 1970s and early 1980s is undated or dates are illegible.

Three main categories of material are used:

Clippings consist of popular newspaper and magazine articles.

Documents include organisational newsletters, Hansard extracts, published and unpublished reports, Amnesty International press alerts and notes.

Publications include government issues of tourist and investment brochures, conference and study papers, publications issued by non-governmental and political groups, copies of legislation, handbooks, publications from international, anti-apartheid organisations and churches.