"In a creative and illuminating look at the role of African men in colonial armies and police forces, Hlonipha Mokoena makes a compelling argument about why these men served in institutions bent on the oppression of African societies. To call them mercenaries, Mokoena argues, is to miss the complexity and density of the motivations that shaped their actions; it is to miss the ways in which these men carved out opportunities in colonial settings." Jacob Dlamini, Associate Professor, Department of History, Princeton University.