Violence, Landscape and the Possibilities of Reconciliation in KwaNxamalala in the Province of KwaZulu–Natall

Abstract

The violence that enveloped the three neighbouring villages in KwaZulu‐Natal Province of South Africa left homesteads destroyed, hundreds dead and thousands scarred – before it ended at the dawn of the new political dispensation. This paper aims to show how the familiar landscape was turned into strategic positions to enable spring attacks, stage retaliations and hide the victims of violence. The paper further shows that after the political violence the people found ways to rekindle relationships for peaceful coexistence. Using the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of 1996 the paper shows how external interventions have limitations in ushering lasting peace between victims and perpetrators of human rights violations. The ukukhumelana umlotha Zulu ritual, the paper argues, is one conflict‐resolution method that can be employed to bring victims and perpetrators together in a neutral space to seek reconciliation.