Dr David Matsinhe reflects on the recent conflict in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique as it speaks to his chapter in MISTRA’s recently published Land in South Africa: Contested Meanings and Nation Formation publication the analyses the connections between land governance and economic, social and political conditions in southern Africa.

In his chapter entitled, “Land, Rights and Dignity “, he documents this process in Mozambique, where the current regime of land governance encourages the scramble for resources in the name of economic development, often without due diligence on human rights, just compensation or free, informed, prior consent. This is a prolific production of fields of straw