Political Violence in Africa: The Role of Political Parties in Kenya and South Africa

Abstract

<p>This study investigates the links between the management of intra-political party disputes and wider political violence that is often witnessed in Kenya and South Africa during competitive political processes. Although there have been recent constitutional reforms of public governance systems aimed at avoiding violence as a means of resolving disputes in many African societies, such reforms have not always extended to dispute management within and between political parties. In the case of Kenya and South Africa, the inadequacy of the aforementioned reforms has made political parties to be the Achilles’ heel of systematic efforts of resolving or transforming disputes in competitive political processes.</p> <p>Research data was collected in Durban, Pietermaritzburg (South Africa) and Nairobi (Kenya) through expert surveys that targeted individuals with specialist and/or experiential knowledge of political violence and the workings of political parties in Kenya and South Africa. The surveys used closed and open-ended questions posed via electronic questionnaires, telephonic interviews, as well as one-on-one interviews</p> <p>This study examined a number of thematic issues related to participation and representation in the activities of political parties in Kenya and South Africa. These issues focused on: (i) linkages between political parties and political violence, (ii) gender dynamics and women’s participation in political parties, (iii) elections violence, (iv) the conundrum of ethnic and race relations, (v) the media and political violence, and (vi) youth and political party violence. The discussion of these issues laid the foundation for answering the research questions. This is because the analysis of each of the aforementioned issues provided opportunities to examine the participation and representation of different entities and social groups within and between political parties, and how their interactions play roles in escalation or de-escalation of political violence.</p> <p>Political parties in Kenya and South Africa are immensely affected by intra and inter-political party disputes. The reasons for occurrence of disputes pertain to the variance between the realistic expectations of a member, a social group or a faction of a political party and what they are actually able to achieve relative to other members within the prevailing rules of the political parties. The perceptions of injustice, discrimination and fraud, among other malfeasances, trigger conflicts. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher argues that the modus operandi of political parties in Kenya and South Africa, for the most part, do not enhance cultures of peaceful resolution of disputes. Many disputes within political parties are not adequately resolved over a period of time and the net result has been that their members have cultivated and maintained political cultures in which violence is considered a solution to political disputes within the parties and with other parties. This partially explains the cyclical nature of political violence in the two countries. Ultimately, this study adds a voice to the rallying call for effective management of intra-political party disputes so that they do not percolate into society and contribute to political violence in Kenya and South Africa.</p>