What do you think?
Rate this book
War Party: How the ANC's political killings are breaking South Africa
Cadre deployment means that the ANC and the state are inextricably intertwined. In KwaZulu-Natal, which has long been the powder keg of South Africa, it’s a monster that means people of competing patronage networks are killing each other for a place at the trough – for jobs and tenders – and the taxi industry provides the hitmen, guns and the transport. Travel with journalist Greg Ardé across KwaZulu-Natal into the dark heart of South Africa and the ANC’s ‘culture of blood’.
204 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 9, 2020
16 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 14, 2021
The book in 3 sentences:
Competition for power and patronage has created a bloody war within the ANC. The party has gone from liberation movement to criminal syndicate, in bed with taxi bosses, private security companies and gangsters. As countless innocent people's lives are shattered by violence, high-ranking politicians and the security establishment seem unwilling or incapable of staunching the flow of blood.
General impressions:
An impressive journalistic exercise cataloguing the many instances of political violence in KwaZulu-Natal and how deeply it has affected the ruling party in the province. However, it was difficult for me to get a helicopter view of what actually drove the violence. Is it merely the lust for power and money or is there something greater? The book didn't seem to get to the root of violence as a political strategy that was deliberately unleashed by the ANC during the "People's War' of the 1980s and 1990s.
This book changed my mind about:
The extent to which private security firms can perpetuate violence and disorder if left unchecked. It showed me how you still need a strong sovereign (which itself is limited by checks and balances) to ensure law and order prevails.
Competition for power and patronage has created a bloody war within the ANC. The party has gone from liberation movement to criminal syndicate, in bed with taxi bosses, private security companies and gangsters. As countless innocent people's lives are shattered by violence, high-ranking politicians and the security establishment seem unwilling or incapable of staunching the flow of blood.
General impressions:
An impressive journalistic exercise cataloguing the many instances of political violence in KwaZulu-Natal and how deeply it has affected the ruling party in the province. However, it was difficult for me to get a helicopter view of what actually drove the violence. Is it merely the lust for power and money or is there something greater? The book didn't seem to get to the root of violence as a political strategy that was deliberately unleashed by the ANC during the "People's War' of the 1980s and 1990s.
This book changed my mind about:
The extent to which private security firms can perpetuate violence and disorder if left unchecked. It showed me how you still need a strong sovereign (which itself is limited by checks and balances) to ensure law and order prevails.
August 24, 2022
A jarring and sobering report on political murders and violence in South Africa.
The scene is mostly local municipalities in rural KZN, where it seems political elites, taxi bosses and private security are immeshed in an unholy dalliance to keep and maintain power and money.
The author, an investigative journalist, details just some of the many recent killings of rival politicians and whistleblowers in recent years.
It makes for grim reading.
What becomes readily apparent is that the ANC, at this point, is little more than an organised cartel; a far cry from its founding principles.
And what is saddening is that this party will probably be the majority political player in South Africa for the foreseeable future.
The scene is mostly local municipalities in rural KZN, where it seems political elites, taxi bosses and private security are immeshed in an unholy dalliance to keep and maintain power and money.
The author, an investigative journalist, details just some of the many recent killings of rival politicians and whistleblowers in recent years.
It makes for grim reading.
What becomes readily apparent is that the ANC, at this point, is little more than an organised cartel; a far cry from its founding principles.
And what is saddening is that this party will probably be the majority political player in South Africa for the foreseeable future.
December 3, 2020
Shining a light into the darkness at the heart of KZN...
Reading Greg's articulate and sensitive deep dive into a complex and difficult subject I was filled with great sadness. I recognise that so many of these terrible abuses of power and privilege that he chronicles have their roots in the conflicts of the past and the mistakes/misjudgements that we made in our efforts to build a better society for all of South Africa's people. Turning back from the abyss will take courage and leadership and I suspect that it will only be those young south Africans not tainted by the sins of the past, that will be able to put KZN back on a trajectory of peace and prosperity for all its people. A courageous book looking at a most complex problem....
Reading Greg's articulate and sensitive deep dive into a complex and difficult subject I was filled with great sadness. I recognise that so many of these terrible abuses of power and privilege that he chronicles have their roots in the conflicts of the past and the mistakes/misjudgements that we made in our efforts to build a better society for all of South Africa's people. Turning back from the abyss will take courage and leadership and I suspect that it will only be those young south Africans not tainted by the sins of the past, that will be able to put KZN back on a trajectory of peace and prosperity for all its people. A courageous book looking at a most complex problem....
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews