Abstract

This article assessed the role of village leaders in combating cross-border smuggling at the Namanga border in Tanzania. The study's objective was to examine the level of awareness of village leaders on cross-border smuggling, and the level of collaboration between village leaders and law enforcement agencies to outline challenges affecting village leaders in preventing cross-border smuggling. Probability and non-probability sampling techniques were used to obtain 110 respondents. Data was collected by using interview guides and questionnaires. Findings show that communities and their leadership along the Namanga border are well aware of the illegal smuggling activities; however, they do not share intelligence and cooperate well with the law enforcement agencies. This is due to cultural practices that view smuggling activities as a normal livelihood activity, and hence, when grassroots leaders attempt to cooperate with law enforcement agencies, they receive backlash from the communities. This works against government efforts to curb smuggling. The study recommends that enhanced community education on the effects of smuggling, enhanced community policing, and sensitization programs would enhance trust between village leaders and communities in the study areas.

Keywords

  • Village leaders
  • cross-border
  • smuggling
  • smuggling awareness

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