Thesis (M.M. (Security))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, 2013. / Stock theft is a national crisis in, across and throughout Lesotho. This fact has led the Lesotho Mounted Police Service to place stock theft management under the serious crimes unit. In the mid-1990s stock theft reached epidemic proportions in the southern district adjoining the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa. This problem still persists and has lately turned very violent and deadly in the Qachas’nek District. However, the Quthing district has seen a relative decrease in the rate of stock theft in the mid-2000s. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors and strategies used in both Quthing and Qachas’nek districts to curb cross border stock theft. These factors and strategies are then compared to establish why crossborder stock theft is decreasing in Quthing while it escalates in Qachas’nek. The main finding of the research is that the Quthing community adopted the strategy of community policing and were trained on crime prevention while the opposite is true in the Qachas’nek district. A community policing strategy has not been adopted in Qachas’nek. It has also been established that training in community policing and crime prevention has to be offered to police officers and the members of crime prevention committee members. Lastly, the study revealed that laws governing stock theft have to be amended and the crime prevention committees should be better empowered

This Special Report attempts to capture, in a very readable journalistic style, the fundamental complexity of the conflict in the Weenen District. It is an honest attempt to look beyond the comfortable stereotypes. Hopefully, it will contribute to a clearer understanding of attitudes to land and the conflict around land. There are no easy solutions to this problem. But, hopefully, this report will assist in the process of finding workable solutions to land struggles in Weenen and other neglected parts of South Africa. / Special Report no. 8

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This report investigates the rural inter-communal conflict as a threat to community livelihood in Jonglei State, one of the ten states in South Sudan. Jonglei State has a long history of unrest, which has also affected other parts of the country. Cattle raiding and conflict have manifested in Jonglei State and the surrounding communities for many years. Many people have lost their lives, and livestock losses have been abundant. It is vital that local government understands and contextualises these challenges so that appropriate interventions may be developed. This study proposes to provide a brief historical background on the evolution of inter-communal conflict in Jonglei. There have been recent changes in the security situation and increased access to weapons. Advanced weaponry has also led to a rise in insecurity and increases in the number and scale of cattle raids. Political tensions and political instability have also emerged. The political situation is unstable and political factions are in constant disagreement. Furthermore, there are limited economic opportunities there is also limited access to natural resources such as water and grazing land for cattle. Climate conditions and migration patterns are also discussed and explained. The cross sectional descriptive survey was used in this study. Various recommendations flowing from the results of the study are proposed in the final chapter. If adopted, these recommendations could enable the Government of South Sudan and the residents of Jonglei to overcome inter-communal conflict.

This thesis is a study of the impact of militarisation, conflict and Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) proliferation on women and children amongst the pastoralist communities of North East Africa. It explores the way pastoralists communities' lives have changed over the decades with the introduction of SALW to make cattle rustling a lethal pastime that involves all members of society but with implications for the vulnerable population caught between warring groups. The study delves into the variety of options facing them, such as the fact that the dangers posed by introduction of SALW in turn militarises the vulnerable population caught between being helpless bystanders or taking up arms to defend their herds or else perish from hunger when the remaining stock are stolen at gunpoint. After an introductory chapter examining thematic issues involved in the complex web knitted by militarisation, conflict, SALW proliferation, cattle rustling and pastoralist communities, the thesis examines circumstances surrounding the need to wage war on neighbours in cattle raids pitting pastoralist communities' against governments interested in the pursuit of politics that disfavour their interests. The following chapters examine various aspects of this complex militarisation/SALW proliferation/cattle rustling web placing it in the context of the subsequent implications for both the pastoralist communities' vulnerable population and the security of the entire region. It delves into ways the vulnerable population is impacted upon with a view to show that the side effects have far-reaching implications for the pastoralists and citizens of the states they belong to. We analyse existing efforts to combat proliferation and instruments aimed at protecting the vulnerable population in armed conflict with a view to ascertain their strengths and challenges. We finally examine possible ways out of the quagmire resulting from the marriage between SALW proliferation and cattle rustling and conclude by offering policy recommendations.