Sjava adds his voice to land expropriation debate

Afro-soul artist and recent BET award winner, Sjava (Jabulani Hadebe) has joined the debate on the issue of land expropriation without compensation.

In an interview with radio DJ Ebro Darden on Hot 97 in the United States, Sjava was unequivocal on his view in this debate, saying that the land belonged to the people and that’s all there is to it.

“The land belongs to us. There is no discussion on that,” he said.

Sjava told the story of an elderly man who was sent to jail for shooting a buck on a reserve, but that was something he’d been doing for generations. He also pointed out that farming was part of his culture and that white farmers should pay for the land that they’re on.

“The land is mine, pay rent, understand me? Because it is my land at the end of the day. The land needs to go back,” he said.

When asked what the government was doing to return land to the people, Sjava didn’t mince his words.

“They’ll will always dance around the issue but at the end of the day everyone knows it needs to happen, and it still hasn’t happened.”

The land expropriation debate was thrust back into the spotlight this week, following an address on Tuesday night by Cyril Ramaphosa. The president announced the ruling party plans to support an amendment to the constitution to make land expropriation without compensation legal.