Who to Blame and What’s to Gain? Reflections on Space, State, and Violence in Kenya and South Africa

Abstract

During the first half of 2008, two of Africa’s shining lights witnessed mass violence. In Kenya, the demon of tribalism, which many hoped had been exorcised at the end of Moi’s rule, resurfaced, threatening to derail the past five year’s economic and political achievements. Although xenophobic violence was not new to South Africa (Crush 2008; Harris 2001), the May 2008 attacks revealed the government’s fundamental inability to protect the security and welfare of all its residents. In both countries, the police’s inability or unwillingness to stem the violence raised the question of “who controls the streets?”.

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Authors: Loren Landau,  Jean Pierre Misago,