Undocumented Migrants As Homo Sacer: Cases From Botswana and South Africa

• Published in: Journal of Asian and African studies (Leiden) Vol. 56; no. 4; pp. 872 - 888
• Main Authors: Maphosa, France, Ntau, Christopher
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-06-2021; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Civil rights; Crime; Discrimination; Exploitation; Law; Migrants; Undocumented immigrants; Violence; South Africa; Botswana; undocumented; exclusion; migrants; citizenship; Homo sacer; xenophobia
• ISSN: 0021-9096; 1745-2538
• DOI: 10.1177/0021909620946349

The concept of homo sacer originates from ancient Roman law under which an individual who committed a certain kind of crime was excluded from society and all his/her rights as a citizen were revoked. This paper uses a few selected cases reported in the media of Botswana and South Africa to demonstrate why undocumented migrants in the two countries fit Agamben’s description of homo sacer. While migrants in general, whether documented or undocumented, are targets of violence, exploitation and discrimination in these countries, undocumented migrants are particularly vulnerable because of their ‘illegal’ status. Although violence against undocumented migrants is not formally endorsed by the state, their description as a problem or a threat to society places them in a state of exception which is virtually outside the protection of the law.