Billy Ntaote is a father, husband, and the founder of the MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism, a non-profit independent Journalism project with a mission to expose corruption, wrongdoing, hold power accountable, and promote human rights in Lesotho.
He has worked as a Senior Political Reporter for Africa Media Holdings, publisher of Lesotho Times and Sunday Express weekly newspapers from September 2013 to May 2017. He has won awards for being the best election reporter during the 2012 and 2015 Lesotho general elections. He started his journalism career with Public Eye Newspaper in October 2009, where he worked until August 2013.
Mr Ntaote holds a Political Science and Public Administration Bachelor of Arts Degree from the National University of Lesotho and has undergone numerous short courses in journalism. He has also reported for the Mail and Guardian on Lesotho, eSwatini, and South Africa stories during a 2015 fellowship with the amaBhungane.
He is a Mandela Washington Fellow, a United States Department of America’s State Young Africa Leaders Initiative (YALI) program.
He has participated in a Professional Development Experience by Voice of America English to Africa Service upon completion of his YALI Mandela Washington Fellowship in 2016. In YALI, he was hosted under a civic leadership track by the Presidential Precinct. Presidential Precinct is a consortium that brings together The College of William & Mary and the University of Virginia.
He has co-authored various international stories that included:
- How First World consumer choices dirty the environment, supported by the Pulitzer Centre.
- a China Africa Reporting Project titled: How Corruption, Politics Threw Lesotho Into Jumping China Debt,
- Produced an investigation into the Cannabis Industry in Lesotho titled: Big Business Cashes in on Mountain Kingdom’s “green gold” and
- contributed towards the production of a Dark Money Investigations story titled: Not everyone agrees with Arron Banks about the value of his diamond mines.
- He has also worked on a documentary on hunger in Lesotho for Arte.
Advocacy Work:
- Served as the Secretary General of the Media Institute for Southern Africa, Lesotho Chapter.
- Participated in the Computer Crime and Cyber Security Bill 2022 multi-stakeholder forums for bill review alongside other civic actors, including presentations before the National Assembly led by the Transformation Resource Centre.
