Justice and Reconciliation in Post-Apartheid South Africa: A South African Woman’s Perspective.

Source: (2005) International Review of Mission. 94(372): 103-116.

From the perspective of a black South African woman social ethicist, this paper explores the implications of reconciliation, justice and mission in the context of South Africa. The paper calls for the entrenchment of justice and reconciliation in South Africa, particularly following the public and ecclesial discourses in South Africa that emphasized issues of truth, forgiveness and healing whilst underplaying the imperative for redistributive justice as a component that could possibly complement and facilitate reconciliation. Ten years after the demise of apartheid, and the subsequent democratization of South Africa, and three-plus years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission reported, this paper suggests that we have become conscious that the quest for justice and reconciliation ought to be the core of the church’s witness and ministry on earth. Justice and reconciliation ministries should be encouraged as they are relevant for churches and societies that are in transition from violent oppression to freedom. In its last section, the paper suggests ways in which justice and reconciliation can be made real through the church’s mission in concrete contexts, such as post-apartheid Sough Africa. Author’s abstract.