Political Intolerance in a Multi-Party Country: Is Indigenous Knowledge the Answer?

Democracy is a system by which majority tend to have their way: the majority rules. South Africa is one country which has multiple parties that seek to be leaders of the nation. This multiparty state has seen many unrests previously and currently and many fueled by political intolerance and loss of African morals. The paper examines the impact of indigenous knowledge on political tolerance in a multi-party country like South Africa. It determines if any, local indigenous can enhance mutual political tolerance at the party level. Political intolerance in many instances is linked to cultural intolerance which in turn constrains the liberty of individual citizens. South Africa like many other countries in the world is faced with the COVID-19 pandemic and this has caused many to lose jobs and other sources of income to sustain their lives. The lack to maintain the lives has resulted in many resorting to looting and committing small crimes in order to feed and maintain their families. Furthermore, the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma fueled the political intolerance that has always been a problem in South Africa. This paper applies a qualitative document analysis (QDA) to track the trends in literature about IK and politics in South Africa. It finds that IK is inter, multi and transdisciplinary disciplines and knowledge applied to address the national ills of looting, protests and opportunistic crimes. It concludes that indigenous knowledge (IK) as a form of knowledge that resonates with many ethnic communities, has attracted the attention of many experts, academics and politicians and is viewed by many as a catalyst to liberate the society.