Liphokojoe of Kao
A Study of a Diamond Digger Rebel Group in the Lesotho Highlands
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4604382 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Motlatsi Thabane (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2000 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 105-121 |
| Publication date | 2000-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Southern African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0305-7070 • E-ISSN: 1465-3893 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/030570700108405 |
| OpenAlex | W2006132656 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 10 |
In the early 1960s, individual diggers from various parts of Lesotho and South Africa descended on a diamond deposit at Kao in northeast Lesotho, hoping to make a living from diamond mining. However, the deposit was leased to a foreign mining company and therefore closed to them. Having been denied hospitality by the local community on government orders, these people lived in nearby caves and hills from where each night they came down to the mine to steal the company's unprocessed ore, processing it by day. In the mid-1960s, they chased out the foreign company and took over the deposit. From this time, they were periodically harassed by the police. Because of their way of life - living in caves, chased by the police - they named themselves Liphokojoe (foxes or jackals). Early in 1970, Liphokojoe rose up against the government. This rising marked the end of a period during which Liphokojoe had refused to co-operate with the local people, had harassed and killed policemen and the staff of foreign companies prospecting in the area, and had burnt a government clinic and police station. This article attempts to understand this group, using in particular E. J. Hobsbawm's model of 'banditry'. It concludes that perhaps a better way of understanding Liphokojoe is through the notion of 'livelihood conjecture' as proposed by S. Pearse
Agriculture · Archaeology · Cave · Hospitality · Livelihood · Looting · Political science · Sociology · Tourism · African studies and sociopolitical issues · History · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa · South African History and Culture
Magical Practices and the Recruitment of Women into Rebel Groups
Artisanal diamond mining
A concealed economy’
Technical Skills, Technology and Innovation among Individual Diamond Diggers at the Letšeng-la-Terae and Kao Diamond Mines of Lesotho, 1960–1970
The rise and fall of Liqhobong Diamond Mine Cooperative in Lesotho
Diamonds, risk and insurance practices in British Africa, with an emphasis on the Gold Coast and Tanganyika
Women and Gendered Roles in the History of Diamond Mining in Colonial Ghana
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,3 |
| Citation span | 2003 - 2025 (23) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |