Reparations for human rights and humanitarian abuses are a key challenge domestically and internationally. While there have been recent developments both in the theory and the practice of reparations for abuses committed in various places around the world, many of the violations committed in Africa, and elsewhere, during colonial times remain unresolved. This article reviews these developments and contextualizes them against the background of cases being litigated by Africans for abuses perpetrated against them in the colonial and apartheid era. Thus, cases being brought by Namibians and South Africans, in the United States in terms of the Alien Torts Claims Act, and other laws, as well as in other jurisdictions are examined. This is done to determine their likelihood of success in the light of the legal problems these cases have to meet. The political contexts of the cases are also examined, as well as why multinationals rather than states are usually pursued.