ISSN: 2332-0915
Phindi Patronella Tlou
The book, Traditional Leaders in a Democracy: Resources, Respect and Resistance (2019), has been produced by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA), a recently established private organization, which operates information services on governance and development, and whose address is given in the heading to this review. The book is well summed up by editors themselves, as a dramatic picture in which the misery of traditional leaders in our country is mirrored, showing that their powers have been stripped in rural areas. Each of the 13 chapters, dealing with various aspects of the history of traditional leaders, is preceded by half-a-dozen highlights calculated to chill the blood of anyone who cares about the future of traditional leaders in South Africa.