The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) has moved to place expropriation back at the centre of South African political debate, announcing plans to introduce an amendment to allow for expropriation without compensation.

In a statement this week, the party said it would table a Constitutional Amendment Bill at the end of next month that seeks to revise Section 25 of the Constitution by removing all references to compensation and enabling the state to expropriate property for what it claims are land reform purposes.

At the core of the proposal is a shift away from private ownership. The Bill would declare land the “common heritage” of all South Africans and place it under the joint custodianship of the state and traditional leadership. It also proposes extending the restitution cut-off date from 1913 to 1652 (the year when Europeans first permanently settled in what is South Africa today), dramatically expanding the scope of potential claims.

Under the model, land would be administered through long-term leases, rather than freehold title, with traditional leaders playing a central role in allocation and governance, particularly in communal areas. MK argues that this system would unlock broader participation in agriculture and economic activity while preventing speculation and foreign ownership.

The party said it would engage other political parties, including the African National Congress (ANC), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and Inkatha Freedom Party, in an effort to build support for the amendment, framing expropriation as a shared national priority.

However, the proposal has drawn sharp criticism from the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), which warned that it signals an attempt to dismantle key elements of the post-1994 constitutional order.

The FF+ pointed to a parallel MK proposal to repeal Section 235, which recognises the right to self-determination, arguing that both property rights and minority protections are under pressure.

It said the MK’s agenda reflects a push to complete what it calls an “unfinished revolution”, reviving earlier positions around state custodianship of land.

The FF+ has urged the public to participate in the legislative process, noting that each submission is counted equally, regardless of detail. While it does not expect the amendments to succeed, it said organised opposition will be critical in shaping the outcome.

Marius Roodt, deputy editor of The CommonSense, said the latest salvo by MK was unsurprising.

“The party has, since its founding, been sceptical of the post-1994 settlement and what has underpinned it, such as property rights, and parliamentary democracy. MK wants to return South Africa to a pre-colonial time, which the party believes was some bucolic utopia, but nothing could be further from the truth,” Roodt said.

“Destroying property rights, and making all South Africans reliant on the state or traditional leaders for property, will destroy any hope the country has of becoming a prosperous and successful country. Property rights are the foundation stone for democratic prosperity and underpin human freedom in every free and open society because a state that cannot take your property and assets, cannot remove your basic living standards,” he said.

“While the amendment is unlikely to pass under the current national unity governing arrangement it is concerning that any party even considers that this is a sensible proposal.

“Earlier this week, The Common Sense reported on how the ANC in Gauteng has, in practice, flipped to an ANC-EFF-MK coalition, which might in time be extended to the rest of the country. What naïve observers must understand, is that policies that would cause harm and undermine South Africa’s economy and investment are in the best interest of populist political movements as these are well positioned to harness deepening poverty and anger and translate that into growing political support,” Roodt concluded.

The Common Sense has published a wealth of data to show that, at this time, the bulk of South Africa’s people support centrist and pragmatic policies, including improved property rights. That pragmatism is a very important countervailing force in favour of South Africa’s longer-term success and is something that populist parties, such as MK and the EFF, will need to break down and overcome in order to become politically dominant.