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My Land Obsession: A Memoir
Bulelwa Mabasa was born into a ‘matchbox’ family home in Meadowlands, Soweto, at the height of apartheid. In My Land Obsession, she shares her colourful Christian upbringing, framed by the lived experiences of her grandparents, who endured land dispossession in the form of the Group Areas Act and the migrant labour system.
Bulelwa’s world was irrevocably altered when she encountered the disparities of life in a white-dominated school. Her ongoing interest in land justice informed her choice to study law at Wits, with the land question becoming central in her postgraduate studies. When Bulelwa joined the practice of law in the early 2000s as an attorney, she felt a strong need to build on her curiosity around land reform, moving on to form and lead a practice centred on land reform at Werksmans Attorneys. She describes the role played by her mentors and the professional and personal challenges she faced.
My Land Obsession sets out notable legal cases Bulelwa has led and lessons that may be drawn from them, as well as detailing her contributions to national policy on land reform and her views on how the land question must be inhabited and owned by all South Africans.
Bulelwa’s world was irrevocably altered when she encountered the disparities of life in a white-dominated school. Her ongoing interest in land justice informed her choice to study law at Wits, with the land question becoming central in her postgraduate studies. When Bulelwa joined the practice of law in the early 2000s as an attorney, she felt a strong need to build on her curiosity around land reform, moving on to form and lead a practice centred on land reform at Werksmans Attorneys. She describes the role played by her mentors and the professional and personal challenges she faced.
My Land Obsession sets out notable legal cases Bulelwa has led and lessons that may be drawn from them, as well as detailing her contributions to national policy on land reform and her views on how the land question must be inhabited and owned by all South Africans.
268 pages, Paperback
Published August 24, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 24, 2025
My spirit is whole, my body edified, and I can start another week of book-based events with a heart so full that I can burst.
Folks, MY LAND OBSESSION, A Memoir, by Bulelwa Mabasa is filled with hearth, home, and heart. I cannot recommend it enough. It is a cross-generational story wherein we will all find pieces of ourselves. From the anchoring love and support of growing up in an extended family unit to moving into an emerging suburb where public transport is inaccessible, roads are yet to be tarred and finding yourself as the primary caregiver to your younger siblings while parents build their careers. From assimilating to the Englishes (language, mannerisms, etc.) due to switching schools, colourism, and hair politics to navigating total freedom at an institution of higher learning.
Passion. How I loved how Bulelwa found that her passion rooted in land dispossession set her on a rewarding trajectory where she is a major part of rewriting history for displaced communities.
Soulweto Booknic sure knows how to keep the big pots simmering. Let's meet in October where MENTAL AWARENESS MONTH will be on our minds. In the meantime, keep discovering new books. Continue reading, it's the new #fountainofyouth. There is no shortage of emerging voices breathing new life into issues close to our hearts.
#soulwetobooknic @tivisa_publicity
@bulelwamabasa
@panmacmillansa #lorrainerecommends #lorrainereviewsbooks #newbookalert #newauthoralert #womensvoices #landmatters #dispossession #rewritinghistory #iwashere #becomingthechange #betheadultyouneeded
PS: I still left with two kotas even though I'd left home having made a #sevencolours from #EBTastyReads22 #MyLandObsession
Folks, MY LAND OBSESSION, A Memoir, by Bulelwa Mabasa is filled with hearth, home, and heart. I cannot recommend it enough. It is a cross-generational story wherein we will all find pieces of ourselves. From the anchoring love and support of growing up in an extended family unit to moving into an emerging suburb where public transport is inaccessible, roads are yet to be tarred and finding yourself as the primary caregiver to your younger siblings while parents build their careers. From assimilating to the Englishes (language, mannerisms, etc.) due to switching schools, colourism, and hair politics to navigating total freedom at an institution of higher learning.
Passion. How I loved how Bulelwa found that her passion rooted in land dispossession set her on a rewarding trajectory where she is a major part of rewriting history for displaced communities.
Soulweto Booknic sure knows how to keep the big pots simmering. Let's meet in October where MENTAL AWARENESS MONTH will be on our minds. In the meantime, keep discovering new books. Continue reading, it's the new #fountainofyouth. There is no shortage of emerging voices breathing new life into issues close to our hearts.
#soulwetobooknic @tivisa_publicity
@bulelwamabasa
@panmacmillansa #lorrainerecommends #lorrainereviewsbooks #newbookalert #newauthoralert #womensvoices #landmatters #dispossession #rewritinghistory #iwashere #becomingthechange #betheadultyouneeded
PS: I still left with two kotas even though I'd left home having made a #sevencolours from #EBTastyReads22 #MyLandObsession
September 23, 2025
A fascinating and captivating read. This is the memoir of a talented and courageous young African girl, who rose from her childhood “matchbox home” in a township, to become a renowned lawyer, specialising in the fields of Land Reform and Restitution. Her loving and supportive family contributed to her many successes, as did her mentors in the legal world.
After years of striving to achieve her dream, sparked by the picture of a crying girl in her childhood home, she reached the pinnacle of her career when she was named as one of the ten members of the Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture by the President himself.
An inspiring story indeed!
After years of striving to achieve her dream, sparked by the picture of a crying girl in her childhood home, she reached the pinnacle of her career when she was named as one of the ten members of the Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture by the President himself.
An inspiring story indeed!
February 2, 2024
Wonderful and easy to the eye writing by Bulelwa, truly enjoyed this book to and fro. Me reading this I was thrown into all kinds of nostalgic feelings.. a kassie born and bread. She details her story in such an easy to read and comprehensible thrilling paging chapter to chapter - which leaves you with imaginative similar experiences .. Kudos to Sesi - thank you so much for taking me on this ride could have sworn I was there with you inside JCP (cressida) 😀
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews