No Last Place to Rest

This book examines the impact of coal mining on the lives of former-labour tenant and rural communities in post-apartheid South Africa.

An ethnographic account of the experiences and resistance of displaced communities that are affected by the expansion of coal mining operations in post-apartheid South Africa. It also offers a critical analysis of the legal and policy frameworks that enable their exploitation.

No Last Place to Rest: Coal Mining and Dispossession in South Africa is an exploration of the ongoing struggles faced by families whose lives have been upended by the relentless expansion of coal mining operations in the Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. These regions, burdened with the task of fulfilling the nation's energy needs and boosting the country’s economy, witness daily the harsh realities of land dispossession that extend far beyond the mere loss of property. 

Dineo Skosana presents a compelling argument that dispossession remains a present-day reality and crisis, contradicting the notion that it is merely a relic of the past in the post-apartheid landscape. She challenges the narrow perspective that measures land loss in material and economic terms only. By considering the impact of grave relocations—a common occurrence in these mining-dominated locales — she demonstrates the profound spiritual anguish and dehumanisation communities endure as their lands are excavated and families lose their sacred connections with their ancestors. Skosana argues that the act of dispossession of both the living and the dead from their land wounds the collective soul of a people, eroding their cultural heritage, collective identity and sense of belonging.

This book offers a rich ethnographic account of the experiences, struggles and resistance of the affected communities as well as a critical analysis of the legal and policy frameworks that enable their exploitation. In relation to the ‘land question’ in South Africa, No Last Place to Rest presents deep insights for communities, activists and government sectors acting in support of social justice and redress.