Biography
Constance Mogale was an experienced South African land activist who has played leading roles in several campaigns and initiatives. She co-ordinated the Alliance for Rural Democracy (ARD), a loose network of organisations campaigning for land rights and livelihoods in South Africa. Her work with ARD has involved leading a national campaign to proposed laws dubbed the ‘Bantustan Bills’ which would affect the tenure, governance and rights of nearly 20 million people living in South Africa’s communal areas. She has established a proven record in mobilisation and participatory research, and for many years led a grassroots movement called the Land Access Movement of South Africa (LAMOSA), a federation of communities claiming land through restitution, which successfully challenged the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Act of 2015 and obtained a favourable judgment from the Constitutional Court. She held a post-graduate diploma in Land and Agrarian Studies, also from UWC, and is currently an Atlantic Fellow.