South Africa’s Parliament Revokes Apartheid Law

The Black Administration Act, a cornerstone of apartheid, was scrapped by Parliament on Thursday, 11 years after the nation’s first democratic elections ushered in a black government.

The legislation was used by the apartheid regime to institute an array of brutal laws that affected all aspects of the lives of millions of black South Africans.

“Today, we are here to celebrate as we get rid of a repugnant statute,” Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla told Parliament.

The act, which dated to 1927, strengthened the power of tribal chiefs and was later tightened to allow for forced evictions.

The act was “a statute onto which many aspects of apartheid could latch and build on,” Mabandla said, and allowed administrators “to control the lives of black people by decree.”