A Posse of Guns for Hire

The document discusses how the 2004 foiled coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea illustrates the danger of unemployed former soldiers and guerrilla fighters in Africa. It highlights the failure of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programmes to provide viable livelihoods for ex-combatants, specifically noting high unemployment among former South African Defense Force members. The text further argues that existing legal frameworks, such as the African Union's 1977 Convention and South Africa's 1998 Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act, are insufficient to curb mercenary activity amidst a global rise in private military services.

• The intersection of poor governance and a large population of idle former soldiers and guerrilla fighters creates a job market for mercenaries, as evidenced by the March 2004 foiled coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea.
• Despite significant investment, such as $500 million from the World Bank for disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programmes in Africa’s Great Lakes region, converting unskilled former soldiers into civilians in slow economies remains difficult.
• In South Africa, a 2001 report by the Institute for Security Studies found that 37% of ex-combatants from both sides of the apartheid divide were unemployed.
• Many of the individuals arrested in Zimbabwe in March 2004 for plotting mercenary activities were black former soldiers of the apartheid-era South African Defense Force, specifically from the 32 Battalion.
• Current legal measures to stop mercenary activity are viewed as inadequate; the African Union has not reviewed the 1977 Convention for the Elimination of Mercenarism in Africa, and critics argue South Africa's 1998 Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act did not sufficiently tighten the legal environment.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2008). A Posse of Guns for Hire. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-posse-of-guns-for-hire/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. A Posse of Guns for Hire. 2008. https://saiia.org.za/research/a-posse-of-guns-for-hire/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=A Posse of Guns for Hire |date=28 April 2008 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/a-posse-of-guns-for-hire/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2008posse, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{A Posse of Guns for Hire}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2008}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/a-posse-of-guns-for-hire/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }