National Security Sector Reform for Peacebuilding

Introduction

Skillshare Lesotho is a Civil Society Organisation registered in terms of the laws of Lesotho. Through its department of justice, peace, and public safety, Skillshare Lesotho strives to nurture a peaceful and just society. It is through this very department that Skillshare Lesotho successfully secured funding to implement the UNDP sponsored project titled “Lesotho/UN National Security Sector Reform for Peacebuilding Project (NSSRPP)”. This project is aimed among others at strengthening collaborative relationships between communities and security sector. The project is being implemented in the whole country working directly with the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS), Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) and the National Security Service (NSS).

Skillshare Lesotho facilitated the implementation of the LMPS crime prevention and community policing awareness campaign which is one such activity directly aimed at strengthening collaborative relations between security sector and communities. This activity seeks among others to deepen impact of community policing committees in a bid to prevent crime. The activity was implemented on 22nd December 2022 at Siloe in the Mohale’s Hoek district. The activity was attended by members of the top brass command of the LMPS, local community leaders (chiefs and councilors) as well as members of community policing committees (inactive) and general members of the community.

Project Deliverables:

  1. Security Institutions’ Community Outreach
  2. Support UN Women Community Consultations on gender equality and empowerment of women
  3. Community Conflict workshops.
  4. Strengthen the capacity of the community to understand and monitor human rights in the context of the security sector

Objectives of the community outreach:

  • To create community awareness on crime prevention and community policing.

Rationale for the meeting:

Lesotho Mounted Police Services (LMPS) and Skillshare Lesotho enjoy warm working relations which are also demonstrated by the fact that they entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in June 2019. The MoU is aimed at helping the two institutions to work together enhancing rule of law and promoting access to Justice in Lesotho especially for the most at risk and vulnerable population in Lesotho. Skillshare Lesotho’s role in this partnership is to provide technical support to LMPS and to create demand for human rights, peace and justice at the community level while working with the LMPS to ensure such are achieved through the established system of policing.

The festive season often comes with heightened rates of criminal activities throughout the country and the Taung area (includes Siloe) is no exception. The situation is worsened by the return of some Lesotho nationals who work in different parts of the Republic of South Africa to spend Christmas holidays with their loved ones. Like other parts of the country, Mohale’s Hoek congregates crimes such as stock theft, theft, carjackings, house breakings and murder; some of which remain unsolved leading to the community’s lack of trust in the police. It was therefore imperative that Skillshare Lesotho facilitates this activity with the aim to increase mutual understanding between Taung communities and police.

Methodology:

Crowd Pulling: 

LMPS Band Community March

The activity was implemented in a way of a campaign in order to ensure that the activity reaches its goal of effectively being an outreach. Various ways of mobilizing participants were adopted, such as using community leaders instigating town criers to call for the attendance of the gathering. Another campaign methodology used for purposes of this activity was the utilization of the Police brass band and a community marched from Ha Moletsane Posong to Siloe. The brass band led march was intended as a crowed puller to attract even the community members who ordinarily do not participate in public gatherings such as the youth.

Activity Procession:

The activity was implemented in the way of a public gathering wherein there was a program director and various speakers invited to address the attendees. In order to ensure a two-way communication, as well as to ensure that community issues and grievances were captured, the community members themselves were invited to address the gathering, highlighting their issues with crime as well as the general conduct of police. The activity also included activities such as tug of war to increase community participation.

Tug of War

Photo: Community and Police pull on a rope in a tug of war exercise

The community was invited to engage in a tug of war exercise with the police wherein the police pulled a rope on one side while the community pulled on the opposite side. Later on the community with some members of the LMPS pulled on the same side against police.In explaining the tug of war game demonstration, Supt. Sephaphathi surmised that the essence of the game was to signify the need for the community and the LMPS to work together to subdue crime. It was demonstrated that when the police and community pulled on opposite ends no one won but when they joined forces a clear victor emerged.

Morena Batere Thulo, the chief of Siloe and the neighbouring villages welcomed all to his ward and thanked the LMPS for visiting his area to converse with his subjects on issues of community policing as a tool to fight crime. He mentioned that as the community, they are frustrated by the kidnapping of young girls (chobeliso), house breakings, theft, stock theft, rape etc. He pleaded with the police to help revive and/or establish the community policing committees in this area as they had disappeared without trace.

The Program Director, Inspector Letsie of the Mohale’s Hoek LMPS invited Superintendent (Supt.) Sephaphathi of the Crime Prevention and Community Policing Department stationed at the Police Headquarters in Maseru to highlight the purpose of the gathering. Supt. Sephaphathi indicated that as Christmas approaches, the crime will rise steeply. He informed the Siloe community that the LMPS has embarked on a series of Crime Prevention and Community Policing Awareness Campaigns across the country to improve the relations between the Police and the communities by identifying their problems and developing solutions thereto. He further implored all present to articulate their grievances in order to ensure those with power address them.

Community Grievances

In ventilating their grievances, the Taung community complained of stock theft, vandalising of the wetlands (likhakeletsi) as well as grazing animals on reserved meadows by the herd boys. They also showed anger and frustration over the road accidents caused by reckless driving of vehicles killing both the young and old alike, and their animals. The community intreated for erection of speed humps to curb over speeding. The community also alleged violation of their rights as after the vehicles killed their animals, they are forced to repair such vehicles notwithstanding the loss they incurred because of their dead animals. The Siloe community lamented further that the famo/zama-zama gangs disrupt their peace during the festive season and urged the police to establish a satellite office in order to ensure the community’s safety, also that the taverns operate within the time frames in their licences. They further complained of some of the police officers who are friends (drinking together) with criminals tainting the integrity of this honourable institution.

Stakeholders remarks:

The Lesotho National Federation of Organisations of the Disabled (LNFOD) graced the event in the persons of Messrs. Semanga Seko and Pheko Makhetha, Advocating for the rights of the persons living with disability. Mr. Seko educated those present that disabled people like other members of the community have rights and must be included in decision-making bodies, mainly to advice on how to approach and handle issues of people with disabilities. He indicated that people with disability are both perpetrators and victims of various forms of crimes and as such, the police also have to be in a position to adequately deal with them,  which among others means being acquainted with means of communication such as sign language.

Sub-Inspector Kopeli heading Child and Gender Protection Unit (CGPU) in the Mohale’s Hoek LMPS prompted that Mohale’s Hoek is rape-infested and assured the gathered that the law will deal harshly with the perpetrators. He also sensitised the community about gender-based violence as another form of crime that will skyrocket in the festive season, urging the community to report these crimes, mostly committed against children, women and people living with disability. He further informed the community that one of the greatest challenges to the work of the CGPU was the absence of a specific piece of legislation dealing directly with gender based violence, however now with the passing of the Counter Domestic Violence Act, the CGPU would help more victims and act more strongly against GBV.

On behalf of Skillshare Lesotho, Adv. Mosae pointed out that Skillshare Lesotho advocates for the strict observance of human rights by the security agencies while dealing with the communities as well as among themselves, hence the UNDP selected Skillshare Lesotho to implement the national security sector reforms project aimed at fostering good relations between these institutions and the communities. He stated thereat that community consultations were held across the country on which laws to reform and how, which in turn influenced the work of the National Reforms Authority (NRA). He however added that that was not enough as new laws ought to find a conducive environment once passed hence capacity development of security sector in areas of human rights as well as building civilian-security sector relations were all necessary, which led to the current project and specifically the activity itself. Adv. Mosae encouraged the community to support the police as it is currently undergoing some serious introspection in order to police the communities efficiently and effectively. He further stated that the police should not be burdened by petty crimes which can be avoided but communities should, on their own accord, divorce themselves from crime.

Senior Superintendent (SSP) Tholoana of the Mohale’s Hoek LMPS stated that rape is rife in the district, topping other forms of crime. She pointed out that her research revealed that young girls migrate from the remote rural areas to Mohale’s Hoek urban for various reasons, ranging from furthering their education to job search. These girls are tempted by the urban night life and get heavily intoxicated exposing themselves to the risk of being raped. The Mohale’s Hoek Police Chief mentioned that stock theft in the district is also disconcerting. She stated that Mohale’s Hoek is very difficult to police because the major part of the district is mountainous and often not easily accessible.

SACP Senti indicated that there was a high prevalence of rape in Mohale’s Hoek despite the heavy punishment imposed by the Sexual Offences Act of 2003, adding that rape is inconsistent with not only legal frameworks but also customs and values of the Basotho nation. He hummed that the goal of the gathering is to repair the relations between the LMPS and the community by resuscitating community policing committees to work hand in glove with the LMPS. The SACP further indicated that livestock theft is accentuated by the chiefs who unlawfully endorse the selling of stolen animals to the local butcheries and/or in South Africa. He warned that these chiefs will also be apprehended for they act contrary to the provisions of the law clothing them with power to apprehend suspects. He pleaded with the community to help chiefs in establishing the community policing committees and the LMPS, together with Skillshare Lesotho will provide training on community policing. He urged the community to make use of the police tollfree number (112) to report crime. He pledged to organise a tournament and career guidance with a view to thwart the youth’s attention from crime and emphasised the need for the youth to finish their tertiary education or vocational training to increase their employability or be able to start and run their own businesses in order to build this country’s economy. The SACP assured the LNFOD that there is an office established specifically to see to it that the rights of people living with disability are respected like everyone else’s.

Commitments

Police:

  • To ensure Police presence during the festive season and beyond by establishing a satellite Police Post.
  • To provide training of the community policing committees.
  • To facilitate soccer tournament and career guidance during the Christmas holidays.
  • SACP Senti to maintain an open line of communication wherein community members can call to lodge complaints (gave out a number for members to call)
  • Ensure the toll-free police helpline is always reachable

Skillshare Lesotho:

  • To maximise efforts to assist police and communities to diffuse conflict in communities and forge collaborative relations between police and communities.
  • To capacitate community leaders on community policing and conflict management.

Community:

  • To establish community policing committees.
  • To give information to the police and/or report crimes.
  • To desist from taking the law into their hands.