by Thais Moore
Dr. Leonard Moore invited Enver Daniels, Chief State Law Advisor of South Africa to speak to the Maymester students on Wednesday. Daniels’ position is the American equivalent to a U.S. Attorney General. Daniels was instrumental in helping to write the new South African Constitution of 1994 when the new democratic government began, after apartheid ended.
Colonialism and the apartheid history are personal for Daniels and therefore his role in drafting the new state constitution was vital. During apartheid he and his family were forceably removed from their homes and neighborhoods into what is known as a township–in the more rural parts of the city. Whites did not want to live near the Blacks (those of pure African decent) nor the Coloureds (those of mixed races), and so they would come through with bulldozers and flatten entire neighborhoods forcing people off the land. In many of the townships, that still exist today, water supply and toilets are communal, shared by 12 or so families.
Property values where Whites took over, on shorelines and mountainous regions, are now soaring. Daniels explained how Whites illegally gained control of the land, and then set up laws to keep blacks from regaining the territory. Many of the students and staff raised many questions.
Daniels currently works with all branches of government in South Africa and is a long time member of the African National Congress (ANC).
