Violence in Africa: Further Reflections on the Causes

Abstract

This is not the first time that ESEAT has written on violence in Africa. In Fact, in 1999 a whole volume was devoted to violence. In 2010 I reviewed this volume. However, despite all these efforts, we see that inter and intra-state violence continues in many countries in Africa, including environmental violence. In this paper, while referring to what has already been written about, I try to reflect on what could have been left out in our search for causes of violence on the African continent. On the theoretical plane, I suggest that we should emphasise the fact that when theologising, we use and are influenced by our historical and cultural context. This comes out when we examine the root cause of environmental violence, where we argue that it is mainly to be explained by how the West has understood the bible, especially the creation story. Furthermore, I note that while looking for the root causes on the Africa continent, we have to revisit the way we conceive causality. Rather than limiting ourselves to the immediate and visible causes, we should also include remote and invisible causes in a way that we come to what I call cumulative causality, meaning that the different factors contributing to the phenomenon must be taken together. On the practical level, I refer to how Africa has been successively invaded since the 17th century BC. I argue that these invasions have negatively impacted Africa. I end by making suggestions on how to deal with this violence, by proposing the following: the importance of putting in place mechanisms and strictures for promoting justice; the importance of using the African worldview, including appropriate rituals, while working on the causes of violence; and cooperating with well-wishers from outside Africa in fighting the causes of violence