“Looking up at the figure pacing closer towards him Molele saw the gun pointed at him. The assailant appeared to be preparing to fire another round. In his mind, Molele had already accepted he was at the mercy of his attacker. After all, he was sprawled in the dust with two bullet wounds. There seemed to be no doubt the gunman wanted him dead right there. But this was clearly not his time.”
A Desire to Return to the Ruins looks at the contentious issues of land reform and restitution in post-apartheid South Africa. It tells the stories of communities engaged in a battle to regain land forcefully taken away from them and their forebears during the apartheid years. The stories range from successful claims that have turned communities against one another, their long struggle against the government’s bureaucracy, and the political wrangling around the land issue.