Empowering the Powerless - Using Anthropological Knowledge to Address the Challenge of Witchcraft-Related Crime in Post-apartheid South Africa

Abstract

In South Africa, witchcraft-related crime continues to receive little attention from anthropologists, despite it being one of several challenges facing the post-apartheid South African government. However, this article argues that anthropologists have a responsibility to make their knowledge useful in efforts to address witchcraftrelated crime. Through engagement with
relevant literature, this article shows how anthropological knowledge can
be of signifi cant value in empowering both local communities and the police in addressing witchcraft-related crime.