The Rise of Iinkabi: An ethnographic study about the emerging ‘iinkabi identity’ as a form of masculinity.

Abstract

This study explores the social phenomenon of iinkabi, or contract killers, within contemporary South Africa, analysing how their identities and public perceptions intersect with broader notions of masculinity, violence, and structural inequality. Moving beyond traditional criminological perspectives, the research employs an ethnographic and anthropological approach to understand iinkabi as socially embedded figures shaped by historical, economic, and cultural forces. Based on six months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Bellville South, the study utilized semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation to investigate how communities comprehend the meaning of iinkabi masculinity and its relation to social recognition, economic precarity, and moral legitimacy. The analysis is informed by theoretical frameworks of hegemonic masculinity (Connell, 1995), structural violence (Farmer, 2004), and necropolitics (Mbembe, 2003), along with African-centered epistemologies such as Ubuntu. The findings reveal that iinkabi occupy a paradoxical social position. They embody both violence and transgression but also represent efforts to reclaim masculine authority and social worth in contexts where economic and moral pathways to respectability are limited. The study argues that contract killing functions not only as a means of livelihood but also as a performative expression of masculinity in a society marked by enduring inequality and dislocation. By foregrounding iinkabi as a lens for examining contemporary South African masculinities, this research contributes to broader anthropological discussions on gender, violence, and postcolonial identity. It underscores how structural exclusion and capitalist rationalities continue to influence men’s pursuit of legitimacy, belonging, and survival in the aftermath of apartheid.