On 29 April 2026, the Lekgotla La Batho Research Project, an initiative of the university’s Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs (TM-School),  engaged with the Bapedi Urban Royal Council to initiate ethical research on dikgoro (traditional/customary courts), African indigenous laws, African legal philosophy, African epistemic and indigenous knowledge systems, and bosadi/women theorisations in Tshwane.

A key outcome was a community practice plea for Unisa to collaborate and create an inclusive impact. In response, the TM-School is now involved in research projects and has implemented strategic interventions targeting underserved areas, aligned with Unisa’s Division for Community Engagement and Outreach (DCEO) data.

These efforts align with Unisa’s catalytic niche areas, the TM-School’s operational plan, and its 2026 strategic plan for engaged scholarship and research. Additionally, Inkosi Phathekile Holomisa’s jurisdiction, Ah! Dilizintaba, approached the TM-School to collaboratively implement the Lekgotla La Batho Research Project’s deliverables around June 2026, with plans to host a workshop to empower traditional leaders for socioeconomic development.

The TM-School maintains ongoing collaboration with epistemic communities on vital public affairs across South Africa. Through partnerships, the Lekgotla La Batho Research Project has supported various rural communities through continuous initiatives, interventions and strategies for over a decade. Its goals and deliverables have expanded through community consultations, to produce concrete, accredited research outputs and intervention strategies that honour community cultural practices, norms, customs, protocols and goals.

The project has expanded to produce accredited research, public engagement events and policy roundtables that support lawmakers in developing African indigenous laws that reflect community voices.

Communities collaborating with the Lekgotla La Batho Research Project have emphasised the need for multidisciplinary approaches to interventions, in which diverse issues identified by communities are deliberated to address key concerns and involve stakeholders. This promotes better solutions and interventions, focusing on rural spatial planning, agricultural education, biodiversity for tourism, the Bill of Rights, food security, land administration and traditional courts.

The project remains committed to serving and responding to community invitations, aiming to redefine the future jointly.

* By Macdonald Rammala, Researcher at the Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs