It was in August 1980 that Professor Allott visited Southern Africa for the first time, and I am proud that it was the Institute to which I am attached which arranged the visit. In October 1981 we had the pleasure of welcoming Professor Allott to our region again. This time the happy occasion had been arranged by the University of Swaziland. All of us took an instant liking to Professor Allott. (As for our visitor, I got the distinct impression that he, too, enjoyed the encounter!) The way in which he was able to keep our discussions on track and lend perspective to them made a great impression. Hitherto, we had known him as a learned author on African law and the “internal conflict of laws”. “In the flesh”, he proved to be a man of the people and a teacher par excellence—concerned but never patronising, incisive in his criticisms but never disparaging. This impression is confirmed in his publication, The Limits of Law, which has become a source of constant reference in the Southern African region, and which inspired this essay.

For reasons Professor Allott will understand, my contribution to his Festschrift has taken the form of a cri de coeur from a troubled part of the world which, only too aware of the limits and the excesses of law, continues to put its faith in law as a social directive.