Amnesty International Report 2016/17 - Lesotho

Kingdom of Lesotho
Head of state: King Letsie III
Head of government: Pakalitha Mosisili

Political instability persisted following an attempted coup in 2014 and the killing of a former army chief in 2015. Several opposition party members remained in exile. The right to freedom of expression remained severely limited. Journalists faced intimidation, physical attacks and politically motivated criminal charges in relation to their work, prompting several to flee the country. The rights to health and an adequate standard of living were undermined.

POLITICAL INSTABILITY

The report of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Commission of Inquiry into instability in Lesotho was made public in February. Among other things, the inquiry looked into the killing by soldiers of Lieutenant-General Maaparankoe Mahao in June 2015 following his dismissal from the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) and replacement by Lieutenant-General Tlali Kamoli. The soldiers said that Maaparankoe Mahao fired on them when they attempted to arrest him on suspicion of plotting a mutiny in the army. The SADC report found no evidence that Maaparankoe Mahao had planned a mutiny and concluded that he was deliberately killed. It recommended criminal investigations into the killing and the dismissal of Tlali Kamoli. The government announced Tlali Kamoli's retirement effective from 1 December.

Prime Minister Mosisili commissioned a joint task force, comprising members of the police and army, to investigate the circumstances of the killing. Maaparankoe Mahao's family dismissed it as lacking impartiality.

The SADC summit in June urged opposition leaders who had fled Lesotho after receiving death threats in 2015 to return by August to participate in constitutional and security reforms recommended by the SADC. In November, the government introduced an Amnesty Bill which if passed would enable impunity for serious human rights violations.

UNFAIR TRIALS

Fifteen LDF members charged with sedition and mutiny in May 2015 remained held at Maseru Maximum Security Prison, even though the SADC inquiry found no conclusive evidence of a mutiny and recommended that the soldiers be released.^[1] In October 2015 the High Court had ordered the release of all the soldiers on "open arrest" – a form of military bail – but only seven were released. Tlali Kamoli was charged with contempt of court after failing to comply with the court order. On 29 April, the Appeals Court rejected a request by the remaining soldiers to be placed under "open arrest", thereby overruling the High Court order. The court martial of the detained soldiers was repeatedly postponed.

All five lawyers representing the soldiers faced death threats.^[2] One of the lawyers was arrested and charged with perjury allegedly committed while representing the detained soldiers. Additional charges of fraud, contempt of court and obstruction of justice were added to his indictment.

TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT

The imprisoned LDF soldiers continued to face cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.^[3] After a march organized by the detainees' children on 16 June, some of the soldiers were held in solitary confinement and denied food. One was denied specialized medical treatment and some were shackled. Makoae Taoana, a medical doctor who examined the soldiers after their arrest and torture, died in an unexplained accident in July. Police announced they were investigating the circumstances of his death.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Journalists working in broadcast, print and social media continued to face physical attacks and harassment. On 23 June, after publishing an article that alleged that Tlali Kamoli was to receive an exit package of R50 million (US$3.5 million), Lesotho Times reporter Keiso Mohloboli was interrogated at Maseru police headquarters and asked to disclose her sources. The following day she was arrested and interrogated along with the newspaper's editor, Lloyd Mutungamiri. On 5 July, Lloyd Mutungamiri and Lesotho Times publisher Basildon Peta were interrogated. Basildon Peta was charged with criminal defamation and a related offence. The charges arose from a column that satirized Tlali Kamoli. On 9 July, unidentified gunmen attacked and injured Lloyd Mutungamiri in his driveway. There was no known investigation into the incident. Lloyd Mutungamiri had been charged with criminal defamation in September 2014 for reporting on police corruption; no further action was known to have been taken. Keiso Mohloboli fled Lesotho, fearing for her life.

RIGHT TO HEALTH

The public health care system faced a deepening crisis, largely due to debts owed to South Africa and the World Bank relating to the provision of health care. Patients unable to afford new hospital charges imposed because of debt repayments were told to access free health care in neighbouring South Africa, but without help for travel costs.

RIGHT TO AN ADEQUATE STANDARD OF LIVING

Villagers, livestock and ancestral graves were resettled in Mokhotlong town during the ongoing construction of Polihali Dam, a major project in Lesotho designed to supply water to South Africa. The limited space offered in Mokhotlong meant that villagers lost their livelihoods, which were based on livestock and subsistence farming. People living near the dam continued to have no access to piped clean water and electricity.

1. Lesotho: Call for immediate release of detained soldiers following the report of SADC Commission of Inquiry on Lesotho (AFR 33/3444/2016)

2. Lesotho: Trial of 23 soldiers postponed again (AFR 33/3481/2016)

3. Lesotho: Continued ill-treatment of detained soldiers (AFR 33/4411/2016)