The Zimbabwean government has arrested and charged several high-profile journalists. AI generated photo. Zimbabwe CorrespondentState surveillance, arrests and detentions have created a climate of fear in newsrooms, and a new law will bring investigative journalism under direct state control. The effect is chilling: editors are self-censoring to protect their organisations. This is
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The lingering scars of mining: How South African mines left Basotho miners to die
Families, moved to make way for Mohale Dam, lose court battle
20 years after they were displaced by the Mohale Dam, court tells families to share their compensation payout. Mohale Dam photo: Sechaba Mokhethi Sechaba Mokhethi Five families who were moved to make way for the Mohale Dam in the Lesotho mountains have lost a court battle over compensation. Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA)
Dump site fire leaves Maseru residents in choking smoke for days
The Tšosane dumpsite in Maseru, has been ablaze since Saturday night. Wastepickers, however, continue to scrounge a living at the site. Photo: Sechaba Mokhethi Sechaba Mokhethi Residents near Maseru’s Tšosane dumpsite have been choking on smoke since Saturday night. The community won a court settlement in February 2023, requiring Maseru City Council to
Wounded in Combat, Shortchanged at home
Injured LDF soldiers say SAMIM disability payouts were calculated from the wrong base figure, and justice remains out of reach Billy Ntaote Twenty Lesotho Defence Force soldiers injured during a 2021 deployment to Mozambique are still waiting for compensation that they believe they are owed. Their military leaders have changed their minds
How SA’s Lesotho water project costs ballooned by M45-billion
The second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, implemented by the LHDA, has seen costs escalate from M8-billion in 2008 to M53-billion today, with delays pushing completion from 2019 to 2028. Photo: Sechaba Mokhethi Sechaba Mokhethi The second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project has ballooned from M8-billion in 2008
Lesotho dams authority fights back in “legally baseless” court case
The Katse Dam, the largest in the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and a key water source for the Vaal Dam, which provides all Johannesburg’s drinking water, is at the centre of a landmark constitutional case to be heard by the Lesotho High Court. Archive photo: Sechaba Mokhethi Sechaba Mokhethi The Lesotho Highlands
The human cost of SA’s water lifeline: Lesotho communities go to court
A constitutional court case brought by communities affected by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project is to be heard by the Lesotho High Court. Photo: Sechaba Mokhethi Sechaba Mokhethi Communities affected by the Lesotho Highlands Water Project have brought a constitutional court case arguing that they were denied fair compensation for decades. More than
US aid cuts leave rural Lesotho schools searching for alternative funding
Khama-khamane Primary School students learn in an unroofed structure in the Lesotho Highlands. Photos: Sechaba Mokhethi Sechaba Mokhethi US aid cuts have left schools in Lesotho Highlands looking for alternative funding to fund their infrastructure. Children learn in church halls and outdoors, compromising their education. At Sephalane Primary five grades are squeezed into one
Starlink launches amid job losses in Lesotho
The CEO of T-Connect Lesotho, Phelane Phomane, at the launch of Starlink. Sechaba Mokhethi Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, has launched in Lesotho through T-Connect Lesotho. The launch comes after massive job losses stemming from 50% US tariffs on Lesotho imports and funding cuts that were led by Musk in the Trump
