As the violence increased initiatives were taken by a range of groups including the church, local organisations, street committees and political groupings. Some held meetings with government and warring parties. Letters were written and representations made to the authorities.

From the mid-1980s, KwaZulu Natal was the scene of intense political violence between supporters of Inkatha, the ANC, UDF and other parties. The SAP was seen to support Inkatha, further fuelling the violence. The violence threatened to derail the move towards democratisation, and continued after the first democratic elections in 1994.

Consists of one file of newspaper clippings and one file of articles about ethnicity and violence in the townships and on gold mines in South Africa.

Taxi industry conflict, after the 1994 elections, intensified with killings and assassinations taking place on a regular basis involving the injury and deaths of individuals caught in the cross-fire. The taxi industry was problematic with competition for over-serviced routes, pirate taxis, unroadworthy vehicles and fraudulent permits and competition for routes.

Vigilantism included the independent actions of groups with different agendas and opinions. Some was linked to third-force activities. Tensions were aggravated between groups to escalate black-on-black violence. This created divisions between liberation movements and members of communities and resulted in the deaths of political opponents. Vigilantism was also used by some traditional leaders who saw their authority being usurped. The establishment of official town councils was another catalyst and covert activities using vigilantes dealt with opposition. Vigilantism was often linked to right-wing, conservative groups and occurred in townships, villages and informal settlements across the country.

The right-wing in South Africa included political parties that participated in parliament, such as the Conservative Party and the Herstigte Nasionale Party and extra-parliamentary groups including the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB), Blanke Bevrydigingsbeweging (White Freedom Movement) and the Wit Wolwe (White Wolves). The material includes reports on the Afrikaner Broederbond that was rumoured to have excessive influence on the government. The Afrikaans speaking white population consisted of both conservative and liberal groups.