WHY WE KILL, mob justice and the new vigilantism in South Africa

363pp., paperback, Cape Town 2024

Karl Kemp on the roots, realities and consequences of South Africa’s crisis of vigilantism. Of the 27 000 recorded murders in South Africa in 2022, at least 1 894 were attributed to mob justice and vigilantism. In the first nine months of 2023, a further 1 472 mob justice deaths were registered.

"Here again to haunt us with truths we cannot bear to face comes Karel Kemp ... Why We Kill is difficult book; the moment you crack the covers, you wish you hadn't, but you keep reading, partly because Kemp's stories about do-it-yourself policing are grimly fascinating but mostly because he raises a terrifying question: can the rule of law be saved here?" Rain Malan, author of My Traitor's Heart

South African journalist and lawyer Karl Kemp completed his law degree in Amsterdam and interned at the International Criminal Court. He has written for various publications, including Rolling Stone, VICE and Vrye Weekblad and is the author of Promised Land: Exploring South Africa’s land conflict.