…farmers association blames government and Chinese national BILLY NTAOTE Thousands of families that depend on wool and mohair revenue are now said to be in dire need of food aid as a result of a government policy to localise the sale of their precious products through a Chinese national, Stone Shi. This unfortunate development was revealed
Author: news@lescij.org
Lekhetho is Founding Editor and Journalist at MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism in Maseru, Lesotho. He is 2016 First-Prize Investigative Journalism Award Winner sponsored by MISA – Lesotho and US Embassy – Maseru. Lekhetho has attended a three-month intensive investigative journalism fellowship with AmaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism in Johannesburg, South Africa, from mid-August to mid-November 2018.
During the fellowship, Lekhetho published in South Africa and Lesotho five “impressive” investigative articles about the beleaguered Lesotho’s wool industry, the country’s capture claims by Chinese community, how a Chinese business mogul in the country funded almost every politician and influenced state decisions.
Lekhetho has been commended by his editor and mentor at AmaBhungane, Andrew Forrest, as one of best fellows the Centre has enrolled.
Lekhetho is one of 37 contributors in the Southern African Muckraking – an anthology edited by Anton Harbor and launched during the 2018 African Investigative Journalism Conference in October.
Thousands of angry farmers petition parliament
…Wool and mohair producers want subordinate law creating Chinese monopoly quashed amid Prime Minister's three-month grace period offer BILLY NTAOTE A three-month grace period temporarily lifting government’s ban of the independent export of Lesotho’s wool and mohair announced by Prime Minister Thomas Thabane was on Friday condemned by disgruntled farmers as a
ABC infighting deepens as expelled ‘big five’ suspend Thabane
RELEBOHILE KHOALE Prime Minister and All Basotho Convention (ABC)leader, Thomas Thabane’s bitter face-off with five executive members has worsened and could soon result in a split of the ruling party. The infighting escalated after a 26 June meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee which announced the decion-making body had ratified Thabane’s decision to expel the five for allegedly violating
Jhpiego broadens HIV, TB services
MANTŠALI PHAKOANA In its commitment to support Lesotho’s efforts to reduce the spread of HIV and Tuberculosis (TB), Jhpiego has since broadened its Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) services under a three-year project codenamed THEBE. THEBE is an acronym for Prevention of HIV and TB in Lesotho through Evidence-Based Interventions and Education THEBE commenced in July
Thabane’s ‘dictatorial’ tendencies rear ugly head
...Prime Minister and All Basotho Convention leader accused of unilaterally violating the party’s constitution as he expels ‘rebels’ NEC members in violation of a High Court order MAJIRATA LATELA All Basotho Convention (ABC) leader Thomas Thabane’s decision to “unilaterally” expel key members of the party’s newly-elected National Executive Committee (NEC) has since been scoffed at as façade to circumvent
MPs in rare unity to save wool and mohair farmers
RELEBOHILE KHOALE Parliament has united to investigate the unpopular wool and mohair sale ‘localisation’ policy in a last-ditch effort to save wool and mohair farming—the major source of livelihood for Lesotho’s rural communities. In a show of unity rarely seen in Lesotho’s diverse National Assembly, Members of Parliament (MPs) on 10 June voted for a motion
Winter break to dodge Thabane ouster
Billy Ntaote This afternoon, Members of Parliament are set to decide whether the National Assembly should adjourn for a winter recess or assemble for another week to hear a proposed motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s administration. The MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism this morning learned parliamentary business committee members had all concurred the
UN in double-edged fight against hunger and HIV
Majirata Latela Lesotho’s vulnerable communities are in serious danger from the double-edged sword of a severe food shortage triggered by a devastating drought while also at the risk of contracting HIV as they frantically seek ways to put food on the table in a desperate effort to save their families from starvation. This grim warning
PrEP to save adolescents and young women
BILLY NTAOTE Adolescents and young women between the ages of 15 and 24 years remain among the most highly vulnerable people to contract the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Lesotho. HIV causes the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and the virus interferes with the body’s ability to fight infections by damaging its immune system. HIV is transmitted through contact with
Mokhotlong communities petition water project
…communities’ fears over compensation mount as project kicks-off Billy Ntaote Mokhotlong communities facing compulsory relocation last week petitioned the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) in a last-ditch effort to demand lifetime compensation as construction of the multi-billion Maloti Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Polihali Dam takes-off. The disgruntled residents, represented by Survivors of Lesotho Dams (SOLD)-- a
