Key points
- Mokoena, 98, wins right to burial on church land after court dismisses appeal.
- The Land Court recognises Mokoena as an occupier under Extension of Security of Tenure Act, despite church objections.
- The ruling strengthens the legal ground for burial rights linked to long-term spiritual and familial ties.
At 98 years old, Tikoe Anton Mokoena isn’t fighting for land to farm or live on; he’s fighting for the right to be buried where his spirit belongs.
Mokoena, frail and soft-spoken, recently emerged victorious in a legal battle against the Church of the Holy Ghost, where he has worshipped for most of his life. The Land Court of South Africa, led by Judge MT Ncube, has refused the church leave to appeal a prior ruling that affirmed Mokoena’s right to be recognised as an occupier under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, a designation that brings him closer to securing his final wish: burial on church grounds.
A spiritual tie, not just legal ground
For Mokoena, the church is more than a building; it’s sacred ground tied to family, faith, and a legacy of service. He traces his connection through his adoptive parents, Mr and Mrs Ngwenya, both loyal to the church long before land reform became policy. Despite a recent fallout with church leadership, Mokoena maintains that his link to the land was never severed.
“I want to lie near the people who raised me, who prayed with me. This land has my footsteps,” he shared in court through affidavits.
Legal clarity amid spiritual complexity
The church’s attempt to challenge Mokoena’s rights focused on technicalities, his membership status, the role of his adoptive parents. But the court saw the deeper picture. Judge Ncube dismissed the appeal, citing that such arguments failed to meet the threshold of a “reasonable prospect of success.” The judgment re-centered the conversation on what defines an “occupier” in post-apartheid land law, applying a purposive interpretation as required by the Constitution.
In doing so, the court reinforced that spiritual institutions are not above the transformative aims of land justice.
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