ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the use of legal empowerment in defence of informal settlement residents in South Africa. It examines the use of litigation by the South African shack-dwellers social movement Abahlali baseMjondolo as one of a range of tools it deploys to defend land occupations as part of a broader strategy to address landlessness. The chapter analyses two litigation cases and a case study of the eKhenana informal settlement to examine the implications of legal empowerment for the social movement and its members and for informal settlement residents more broadly. Abahlali's experiences show that in navigating difficult terrain in pursuit of structural change, people must hold onto their own power in using legal empowerment strategies, and that litigation must work hand in hand with organization, mobilization, popular education and political conscientization. The chapter also argues that legal victories are not enough, as there is urgent need for reform of South Africa's property system. The ongoing use of community mobilization strategies is needed to complement and strengthen legal empowerment.
