Who belongs in South Africa? UCT philosopher weighs in on identity and ownership

A growing debate over who belongs in South Africa is forcing uncomfortable questions about identity, ownership and access to resources.

Speaking on CapeTalk, Dr Heidi Matisonn from the Ethics Lab at the University of Cape Town’s Neuroscience Institute said the issue must be understood in context.

South Africa, she said, faces a perceived or real shortage of resources, from school placements to healthcare.

“I hear more and more this discourse of other people are taking our resources, and those other people are often foreign Africans,” she said.

That has prompted a deeper question: who does South Africa belong to?

Ownership or identity?

Matisonn said the word ‘belonging’ carries different meanings.

On one hand, belonging can imply ownership; a claim to land or resources.

On the other hand, it can refer to shared characteristics and identity.

“When we talk about who belongs to South Africa and who does South Africa belong to, we have to think about that meaning,” she said.

Is belonging about owning land? Or is it about sharing something in common that makes people South African?

She said how society answers that question will shape how South Africans move forward.

Scarcity and resource claims

The debate over belonging often intensifies when resources feel limited.

“A lot of these claims of ownership are because people perceive there is not enough, or the reality is that there is not enough,” Matisonn said.

If the ‘pie is really small’, people feel compelled to justify why they deserve a share.

Instead of treating belonging as a zero-sum game, where one group’s claim excludes another, she argued for a focus on growing the pie so more people can benefit.

First inhabitants and historical claims

Questions about belonging also intersect with history.

Matisonn referenced the Khoi and San as the first inhabitants of South Africa, with evidence showing their presence thousands of years ago. She also noted the arrival of Bantu-speaking communities in the first centuries AD.

But she warned that land claims based on history require choosing a specific point in time as the starting line.

“When we make these kinds of arguments, we’re basically picking a particular date in history and saying that’s the claim date. And I think that’s problematic.”

She added that some genetic and archaeological studies suggest that early modern humans may have lived in what is known as the Southern Cape Refuge between 100,000 and 160,000 years ago.

“If you take that seriously, we’re all South African, all eight billion of us,” she said.

Identity beyond race

The debate also affects how individuals see themselves.

One caller questioned whether being born and raised in Africa is enough to identify as African if one is white.

Matisonn said identity ultimately involves personal conviction as well as social recognition.

“I consider myself South African, and I consider this to be my home,” she said, adding that identity should be separated from automatic claims to resources.

She suggested that being South African does not necessarily entitle someone to specific land or benefits, but it does speak to a sense of belonging.

Constitution and responsibility

South Africa’s Constitution states that the country “belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity”.

Matisonn said even that phrase raises questions.

Does ‘live in it’ include only those with legal status? What about migrants fleeing conflict? Or those seeking economic opportunity?

The issue extends to illegal mining, often associated with so-called ‘zama zamas’, a term derived from isiZulu meaning ‘to try’ or ‘to take a chance’.

“If we think seriously about that, people are just trying to survive,” she said.

Belonging versus fitting in

Matisonn also drew on academic work suggesting that the opposite of belonging is not exclusion, but ‘fitting in’.

Trying to fit in, she said, can flatten individuality and create pressure to conform.

True belonging, she argued, should allow diversity of race, language and culture.

A shared responsibility

For Matisonn, belonging comes with obligations.

“With the right to belong comes the responsibility to take care of that to which we belong,” she said.

Rather than competing over who has a greater claim, she urged South Africans to focus on building a country that all can share and call home.

The debate over who belongs in South Africa may not end soon.

But as economic pressure mounts and migration remains in focus, how the country defines belonging could shape its future.

For the detailed discussion, listen to Matisonn using the audio player below: