PASCALINAH KABI Bertha Foundation Fellow Landlocked Lesotho, is currently experiencing severe food insecurity as a result of a deal to meet neighbouring South Africa’s ever-increasing water needs.  The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) was billed as one that would bolster Lesotho’s position in the regional political economy and reassert its sovereignty. But, the

By Steve Kretzmann Data visualizations by Yuxi Wang When he was 13 years old, Rudy Hanse joined the guppy development program offered by the Milnerton Canoe Club in Cape Town. There he learned how to paddle a canoe and swim.  For Hanse, the weekly outing to the Milnerton Lagoon was a way to

A questionable tender to fix Lesotho’s dilapidated airport to meet international standards has been thrown into confusion – first by a liquidation order from a South African judge, then by a phone call from amaBhungane. Key Takeaways:• South African businessman Thulani Majola seemingly joined politically connected partners in Lesotho to win

…former employees claim WLSA Management defrauded their combined M1.9 million in gratuities Billy Ntaote Two Women and Law in Southern Africa Research and Education Trust executives in Lesotho (WLSA) are under investigation following official complaints from other employees that they have been siphoning donor funds for their private use. The European Union as

PASCALINAH KABI Bertha Foundation Fellow Sitting in her modest hut in the rural enclave of Patising in Mokhotlong, Lesotho, the 52-year-old ‘Mapontso Lematla says she first spotted the discoloured water in the local stream decades ago. “This water causes stomachaches and diarrhoea,” the soft-spoken Lematla said in an exclusive interview with MNN Centre

PASCALINAH KABI Bertha Foundation Fellow A leading mining company in Lesotho, Letšeng Diamonds Mine, has admitted in confidential reports that its operations are polluting water systems that poor, rural communities rely on daily. But the company denies this in public. The Patising and Maloraneng communities live near the mine and rely on

In a ploy to botch Lipolelo’s murder case in favour of the Makhoakhoeng couple By Mohalenyane Phakela, Mohloai Mpesi, Thoboloko Ntšonyane and Itumeleng Khoete Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Hlalefang Motinyane, is accused of bungling a murder case against the Lesotho former Prime Minister, Thomas Thabane, in order to protect him and

By Kunle Adebajo and Murtala Abdullahi Photography by Kunle Adebajo and Murtala Abdullahi Data analysis by Mansir Muhammed and Yuxi Wang Visualizations by Yuxi Wang and Jillian Dudziak Editorial and Design Team: Lydia Namubiru, Yaffa Fredrick, Scott Lewis, and Jillian Dudziak A bare-chested old man lies in the emergency room of a government hospital in

NICOLE TAU Two senior officials at the Ministry of Development Planning romantically involved, Lebelo Raliapeng and Leomile Mojaki, have been controversially linked to a preferred bidder in the National Manpower Development Secretariat (NMDS)’s debt collection tender. Raliapeng serves as the Ministry’s ICT Strategies and Projects Manager while his lover, Mojaki works as