In their accounts of the war in Angola, refugees from south-eastern Angola
who now live in Rundu (Namibia) draw a distinction between warfare in the p
ast and the events that happened in their region of origin after Angolan in
dependence in 1975. Although they process their experiences through recount
ing history, these refugees maintain that the incidence of torture, mutilat
ion and massive killing after 1975 has no precedent in the area's history a
nd forms an entirely new development. This article investigates the reasons
for this posited modernity of killing, torture and mutilation. The placeme
nt of the recent events outside local history is shown to represent: an exp
ression of outrage, anger and indignation at the army's treatment of the ci
vilian population during the recent phase of the war. The outrage not only
concerns the scale of the killing, torture and mutilation but is also linke
d with the issue of agency. The informants accuse UNITA army leaders in par
ticular of wanton disregard for the lives and livelihood of their followers
. They furthermore maintain that UNITA ordered ordinary soldiers to take pa
rt in killings which released powers the soldiers were unable to handle.