Investigating Africa’s State Killings: Why This Investigation Matters

Photo: Rwandan refugees cross the Rusumo border to Tanzania from Rwanda May 30, 1994 carrying their belongings. The 250,000 refugees fled their country due to fighting between government troops and the RPF after the government took over the control of the Tanzania Rwanda border at Akagera river bridge southeast of Rwanda. REUTERS/Jeremiah Kamau

Chapter 1:

A Comprehensive Study of State-Sanctioned Violence, Historical Atrocities, and the Quest for Justice

By Emmanuel Mihiingo Kaija
Masterly of Biblical, Theological, and Interdisciplinary Researcher and Author

Preface

This book is born out of necessity, out of a silence that has endured far too long across the continent of Africa. For over a century, the machinery of state-sanctioned violence has claimed millions of lives, eroded communities, and silenced generations. Yet, too often, the world turns away, and history remains unrecorded, hidden in archives, buried under political expediency, or erased from memory. Investigating Africa’s State Killings seeks to confront that silence, to illuminate the truth with painstaking care, and to restore voice to those whom the state has tried to erase.

In compiling this work, I have drawn from an expansive interconnected system of sources: archival documents dating from the early 1900s, survivor testimonies from conflicts across the continent, contemporary news reports, NGO investigations, scholarly research, and cultural and religious reflections that give meaning to human suffering. From the Congo Free State under King Leopold II to the massacres in Tigray, Darfur, North Kivu, and beyond, this book traces patterns of impunity, oppression, and brutality, revealing the structural and historical forces that allow state violence to persist.

This study is not merely historical. It is profoundly ethical, moral, and urgent. African proverbs, literature, and oral traditions remind us that justice is both a communal and spiritual responsibility: “The axe forgets, but the tree remembers.” In these pages, the voices of the victims, witnesses, and survivors speak alongside the words of philosophers, theologians, and human rights defenders, insisting that we confront the human cost of political power wielded without conscience.

The work your eyes behold is intended for scholars, policymakers, activists, students, and any reader compelled to understand the mechanisms of state violence and its enduring impact on society. It is also for the victims, survivors, and witnesses themselves, in recognition of their courage and endurance. If history has often neglected them, this investigation affirms that their stories matter, their suffering is recorded, and their experiences will not be forgotten.

It is my hope that this book will serve as both a record and a call to action. By documenting atrocities, exposing patterns, and underlining moral imperatives, we move closer to accountability, healing, and the preservation of human dignity. Africa’s past and present demand nothing less.

Acknowledgements

The completion of this work would not have been possible without the courage, generosity, and dedication of countless individuals who have shared their knowledge, testimony, and wisdom. First and foremost, I am indebted to the survivors, witnesses, and families of victims of state-sanctioned violence across Africa. Their stories of suffering, resilience, and hope form the heartbeat of this book. Without their willingness to speak, often at great personal risk, this investigation would have been incomplete.

I wish to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Africa Human Rights Network, and the United Nations Human Rights Council, whose meticulous documentation, reports, and archival resources have provided essential evidence for this study. Their tireless work in the field and commitment to justice inspire both this research and the moral imperative that underpins it.

My gratitude extends to scholars, theologians, and writers who have shaped my understanding of Africa’s historical and cultural contexts. Works by Chinua Achebe, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Wole Soyinka, and other literary voices have illuminated the intersections of history, culture, and memory, reminding me that storytelling is itself a form of resistance. Religious, philosophical, and spiritual traditions—from the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, Islam, Sikhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, to African ancestral wisdom—have provided a moral framework that guides the ethical grounding of this investigation.

Finally, I wish to thank my family, friends, and mentors for their unwavering support, encouragement, and patience throughout the research, writing, and reflection. Their belief in the importance of truth and justice has sustained me during moments of doubt and challenge.

This book is an agreement to collective memory, moral courage, and the enduring fight against impunity. To all who have contributed, knowingly or unknowingly, I offer my deepest gratitude.

Introduction

Africa’s story is a landscape of resilience, memory, and tragedy, where the machinery of power has often been wielded as an instrument of death rather than protection. The narrative of state-sanctioned violence is neither isolated nor new; it is a thread that weaves through the continent’s history, from colonial subjugation to post-independence authoritarian regimes. Yet, despite its devastating scope, much of this history remains inadequately documented, silenced by fear, bureaucracy, or indifference. This investigation seeks to illuminate that hidden reality, to give voice to the silenced, and to preserve the truth against erasure.

State-sanctioned killings are a moral, social, and historical emergency. Between 1900 and 2025, the continent has witnessed countless atrocities: the Congo Free State under King Leopold II claimed an estimated ten to fifteen million lives through forced labor and systemic mutilation; the Maji Maji Rebellion (1905–1907) in German East Africa resulted in at least seventy-five thousand deaths from famine imposed by colonial authorities; Uganda under Idi Amin (1971–1979) experienced up to half a million deaths; the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970) killed two million people, primarily from starvation; and Rwanda’s 1994 genocide exterminated roughly eight hundred thousand in one hundred days. Contemporary crises—from Sudan’s Darfur massacres to Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict and ongoing atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo—demonstrate that state violence is not a relic of history but a present and persistent threat. Each death represents not only a human life extinguished but a fracture in the moral and social fabric of society.

This book engages with these realities through multiple lenses: historical records, survivor testimonies, archival documents, contemporary news reports, literature, philosophy, religion, and African traditional wisdom. African proverbs, such as “The one who learns from the past plants the seeds of the future,” provide moral and cultural insight, reminding us that collective memory is both a shield and a weapon against injustice. Literature and oral traditions—from Chinua Achebe to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Wole Soyinka—offer narratives of suffering, resilience, and resistance, ensuring that history is neither forgotten nor silenced. Religious and philosophical teachings, spanning the Bible, Quran, Bahá’í Faith, Sikhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and African spiritual systems, converge on a shared ethical imperative: to protect life, confront injustice, and speak truth to power.

The central purpose of this investigation is to produce a comprehensive, evidence-based account of Africa’s state-sanctioned killings. By combining over one hundred statistical records, archival sources, firsthand testimonies, and multi-disciplinary scholarship, this book seeks to illuminate the scale, patterns, and enduring consequences of state violence. It is a work of memory, resistance, and accountability—a bridge between historical truth and moral responsibility. Every documented death, every preserved testimony, every archival record is an act of defiance against impunity, an insistence that African lives, past and present, matter.

Conclusively, this introduction is an invitation to witness, to listen, and to understand. It challenges scholars, policymakers, activists, and general readers to confront the human cost of political power misused, to examine the moral dimensions of state authority, and to participate in a collective commitment to justice. Africa’s past and present demand more than observation—they demand recognition, reflection, and action. By investigating these state killings, we honor the memory of victims, validate the suffering of survivors, and illuminate the path toward accountability and ethical governance.

Chapter 1: Why This Investigation Matters — A Global Reckoning

Across Africa, the machinery of state-sanctioned violence continues to operate with terrifying efficiency and almost total impunity. Governments, entrusted with the protection of their citizens, have too often wielded authority as a weapon rather than a shield. From Nigeria to Uganda, from Sudan to the Democratic Republic of Congo, reports of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, politically motivated executions, and massacres appear in newspapers, NGO reports, and survivor testimonies, yet are frequently buried under bureaucratic indifference or deliberate suppression. Between 2015 and 2024, Human Rights Watch documented at least seventy-two thousand civilian deaths from politically motivated violence across Sub-Saharan Africa. These figures, however, account only for documented cases; in rural, remote, and conflict-ridden regions, countless deaths remain invisible. Survivors face intimidation, social ostracism, and economic deprivation. A 2022 survey by the Africa Human Rights Network found that sixty-one percent of survivors refrained from speaking publicly due to fear of retaliation, highlighting how silence perpetuates cycles of impunity and grief.

Understanding why this investigation matters begins with the words themselves. The term state, derived from the Latin status, connotes governance, order, and authority, yet in Africa, it has often signified predation rather than protection. Violence, from the Latin violentia, denotes coercion, aggression, and the exercise of power over others. Justice, from Latin iustitia, embodies moral rightness, fairness, and the restoration of balance. When these concepts are distorted, the state becomes a perpetrator rather than a guardian, and justice is denied to those most vulnerable. This investigation seeks to restore meaning to these principles by documenting abuses, amplifying silenced voices, and insisting on accountability for perpetrators of state-sanctioned violence.

The historical roots of this crisis run deep. During the colonial era, European powers systematically employed brutality to maintain control. The Maji Maji Rebellion (1905–1907) in German East Africa claimed between seventy-five thousand and three hundred thousand lives, largely due to famine deliberately imposed by colonial authorities. In the Congo Free State, under King Leopold II (1885–1908), millions perished from forced labor, mutilation, and starvation, with estimates ranging from ten to fifteen million deaths. Post-independence governments inherited these patterns, perpetuating violence as a means of maintaining power. Uganda under Idi Amin (1971–1979) witnessed between one hundred thousand and five hundred thousand deaths, while Nigeria’s civil war (1967–1970) claimed up to two million lives, predominantly from starvation and targeted massacres. Rwanda’s 1994 genocide exterminated roughly eight hundred thousand people in one hundred days. Contemporary crises—from ADF attacks in eastern DRC to Sudan’s Darfur massacres—demonstrate that state-sanctioned violence is a continuing emergency, not merely a historical relic.

Modern atrocities are as shocking as they are meticulously documented. Between August 9–16, 2025, the Allied Democratic Forces attacked villages in North Kivu, killing at least fifty-two civilians, abducting twenty-three, and burning dozens of homes. In Rwanda, M23 rebels, allegedly backed by government forces, massacred between one hundred forty and three hundred civilians, primarily ethnic Hutu and Nande. Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces killed eighty-nine civilians over ten days in August 2025 alone, including sixteen executions in el-Fasher and Abu Shouk displacement camps. Kenya recorded 159 cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in 2024, the highest in six years, with 104 police-related killings and fifty-five disappearances. Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict has resulted in an estimated fifty thousand deaths and millions displaced. Each number represents a human life, and each life is a story of suffering, resilience, and, too often, silence.

Cultural and moral imperatives demand action. African proverbs emphasize the importance of truth and accountability: “Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it,” reminding societies of their collective responsibility to uphold justice. Literature and oral traditions function as living archives of suffering. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe explores the destructive effects of colonialism and cultural erosion. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o reminds readers that “The past is never dead. It is not even past,” while Wole Soyinka observes, “When the state murders, it also murders truth.” Religious traditions reinforce these imperatives: the Bible instructs, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves” (Proverbs 31:8–9). The Bahá’í Faith links justice to the unity of humanity, Guru Nanak exhorts protection of the oppressed, and the Quran teaches that killing one innocent soul is tantamount to killing all of humanity (Quran 5:32). Across cultures, literature, and faiths, a moral call resonates: truth and accountability are not optional; they are sacred obligations.

International and regional mechanisms offer oversight but are often insufficient. The African Union’s Peace and Security Council and UN human rights investigations have mediated conflicts and deployed peacekeeping missions, yet political considerations, bureaucratic inefficiency, and resource constraints have limited their effectiveness. The persistence of mass killings in Sudan, Tigray, DRC, and Cameroon demonstrates the necessity of independent investigations at local, national, and continental levels. Without diligent documentation, the human and historical cost of state-sanctioned violence remains invisible, allowing impunity to thrive.

This investigation matters because it confronts impunity, amplifies silenced voices, preserves historical truth, and seeks to prevent future atrocities. Through compiling archival records, survivor testimonies, statistics, literary and religious reflections, and cultural analyses, it produces a holistic understanding of the human cost of state-sanctioned violence. Each story restored, each statistic humanized, strengthens the moral and political imperative for accountability. Every act of documentation transforms memory into a shield against repetition, ensuring that the lessons of history guide policy, social action, and communal healing. Without this work, cycles of violence continue unchecked; with it, there is hope for justice, remembrance, and the preservation of human dignity.

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