The Riddle of Violence, as the name implies, is supposed to be an account of his metamorphosis from an advocate of non-violence in the Gandhian mold to the realization that in the southern African context, the earlier non-violent commitment had become a chimera because the oppressor did not share it. Further, the oppressor could be said to have gone against all decency which would facilitate, if not centralize, peaceful resolution of the problem.