One critical legislation that was promulgated by the new, democratic, South African Government under the leadership of President Nelson Mandela, was the Restitution of Land Rights Act No 22 of 1994. This legislation required Black people (Africans, Coloureds and Indians) to lodge land claims with Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (CRLR) for a five-year period that ended on the 31st December 1998.

Some claims remain unresolved, mainly due to poorly crafted reports which largely emanated from externally sourced research outcomes. This book therefore will be sought after not only by institutions and individuals appointed to conduct research on land claims in South Africa, (and similar countries that faced the challenge of land dispossession to the disenfranchised) but also to students and researchers at tertiary institutions embarking on the same research themselves.

The author, Prof PK Chauke, is a seasoned researcher who has produced many high-quality results which have received accolades from both the CRLR and his peers. Prof PK, as he is commonly known, does consulting work related to land claims for both private and public institutions. He has also published several peer-reviewed journal articles on small scale and emerging farming in South Africa.