Gibson, Diana M.Ncube, Florence2022-08-102024-03-202022-08-102024-03-202022https://hdl.handle.net/10566/9503Philosophiae Doctor - PhDIn this thesis, I explore the post military lives of Rwandan army deserters who served in, deserted from the post-conflict Rwandan Defence Force (RDF), and went into self-imposed exile. I sought to understand the transition from military to post military life in a context of exile. I argue that being a Rwandan army deserter in self-imposed exile conjures a complex form of post military life and being �on the run� is the best way to navigate Rwandan state surveillance in South Africa. An ethnography conducted in Cape Town and Johannesburg over a period of eighteen months revealed that the military to post military transition of Rwandan army deserters is complicated because these former soldiers believe that they are being �hunted� by their government.enMilitaryExileRwandan Defence Force (RDF)Army desertersAnthropologyUniversity of the Western Cape