Publication

This brief provides an overview of the nature and extent of the problem of political killings in South Africa. The author states that the province of KwaZulu-Natal accounts for the overwhelming majority of these killings and that the killings have been increasingly localized to specific areas. He also discusses who the victims of the killings are, the reasons for the killings and the response to them by the criminal justice system. Finally, he argues that there is a need for more research to understand the obstacles that hinder a more effective criminal justice response to the killings as well as why the problem of political killings continues in the country.