Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the relation between violent conflict in KwaZulu/Natal and the Pretoria – Witwatersrand – Vereeniging area in South Africa during the transition to democracy. It examines how the conflict travelled between these two regions through networks of migration and rumour.

Paper long abstract:

During the transition to democracy in the 1990s South Africa was engulfed in escalating violence. The great majority of violence was labeled so-called 'black on black violence' and occurred in KwaZulu/Natal and in the African townships in the Pretoria - Witwatersrand - Vereeniging area. It pitted supporters of the African National Congress (ANC) against members of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) - the Zulu nationalist party under the leadership of chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi - and the security forces of the state. In the Natal Midlands, conflict turned into a low-intensity civil war when entire communities came under attack and areas were purged of those suspected to support the rival group. In the industrial townships of the PWV violence begun to accelerate from 1990 and led to a series of massacres, drive-by shootings and attacks on train commuters. The perceived arbitrariness of expressions of conflict, suspicions of third force involvement and the uncertain outcome of the negotiation process shaped a context that was marked by high levels of instability, uncertainty and vulnerability.

Based on archival research and oral history interviews, this paper examines the role of rumour and networks of knowledge and migration in transporting violent conflict between KwaZulu/Natal and the urban townships of the PWV. The movement of migrant workers as well as warlords, indunas and political activists was significant in connecting the two regions. Rumours of violence and expectations of real or imaginary threats circulated along social and political networks, translating experiences, assumptions and expectations across different regions.