Contagion or calculated rationality? rethinking crowd behaviour in the xenophobic killing of Farai Kurijichita in Diepsloot Township, Johannesburg, South Africa (January 2011)

Abstract

While the killing of an individual may be attributed to mob violence and attributed to the madness or craziness of the mob, this paper contends that there is rational action even in such situations. Individuals know what they are doing and every guilty person must be held accountable for their actions. Justice must prevail notwithstanding the ethnicity, nationality or even race of individuals involved. This paper is motivated by the public killing of a twenty six year old Zimbabwean migrant called Farai Kujirichita by Diepsloot residents of South Africa on the 22nd of January 2011. The main aim of this paper is to explain the killing of this Zimbabwean migrant. In this paper I dispute explanations of irrational crowd/mob behaviour that could easily be used as excuses for this murder, showing how this violent behaviour is rooted in the South African culture and the acquiescence and sometimes public support of political leaders.