ABSTRACT
Around the world, politics is a major attraction for many. Those who wish to attain political positions and ascend to power through politics and their supporters create a lot of euphoria and tension that many a time ends up being atrocious to the common citizenry. Yet because politicians have turned politics to be about personal power, not much is done to stem the violence that ensues. It is in this light that this chapter examines the politics of violence in Pango (Wamitila, 2003) and Kufa Kuzikana (Walibora, 2003). Both content analysis and social dominance theory have been used to explore the reasons behind violent politics in the two novels. Sidanius and Pratto (1999) posit that social dominance theory argues that intergroup oppression, discrimination, and prejudice are the means by which human societies organize themselves as group-based hierarchies, in which members of dominant groups secure a disproportionate share of the good things in life and members of subordinate groups receive a disproportionate share of the bad things in life. Understanding the cause and effects of violent and negative politics is of great social significance as it helps society realize the means used by dominant groups (herein politicians) to gain power and use it to their own. Consequently, the citizenry is called upon to beware of such selfish politicians and resist their evil machinations to divide society and cause disharmony.
