MATIISETSO MOSALA Senior politicians in Lesotho’s health ministry parachuted friends, family and party comrades into jobs at the flagship Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) in 2022, swelling the hospital’s wage bill. Many of the new appointees were not qualified. The first quarter of 2022 saw the highest staff intake in the hospital's

The king has secretly been transferring state farms as well as others he holds in trust for his subjects, into his private company Nimrod Mabuza Nomsa Mngomezulu is from the impoverished, drought-prone Nkalashane area, under the Lomahasha chiefdom in the Lubombo region. She is currently Eswatini’s reigning woman farmer of the year, but

By Vuyisile Hlatshwayo       Eswatini’s King Mswati III stirred up great hope among his subjects when he promised to give them better access to farmland on which to feed their families and make a living. EmaSwati were asked to apply for access to specific, underutilised farms. But, five years after this promise

PASCALINAH KABI This investigative reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists. The government has sabotaged a legal bid aimed at exposing secret forced sterilisation programmes at Lesotho’s health facilities. It did this by offering the face of this legal campaign, a well-known survivor of

BILLY NTAOTE Women and Law in Southern Africa Research and Educational Trust Lesotho (WLSA) executives have been released on bail. They are charged with 100 counts of tax evasion, which relate to an amount of M822,773.61 in outstanding taxes owed to the Revenue Services Lesotho (RSL).   Reading indictment papers in court to

Matiisetso Mosala There was much pomp and circumstance on 23 May around Lesotho’s King Letsie III and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as they officiated the sod-turning that marked the start of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project’s second phase. The fanfare highlighted how this second phase, which includes the 9.2 billion Maloti

HIV activist, ‘Malijo Baji, was five months pregnant when a private doctor in Maseru told her to abort her baby and get sterilised because of her HIV+ status. Her story has thrown a spotlight on the pressure HIV+ pregnant women are being put under by medical facilities to get sterilised.

Billy Ntaote A whistleblower as well as employees of Lesotho’s biggest diamond mine — Letšeng Diamond Mine — have raised questions about the way in which a catering, housekeeping and laundry services contract on the mine was awarded. While the losing bidder of this contract also lodged concerns, the mine’s owners have

MATIISETSO MOSALA Her promotion to the top job in Lesotho’s Smallholder Agriculture Development Project (SADP II) raised eyebrows and questions, especially after the job requirements were lowered to suit her qualification and experience. ‘Malichaba Nkhethoa started working at the SADP in 2014 as a deputy competitive grant officer, and has risen steadily

MATIISETSO MOSALA A government agricultural project, which attracts millions of US dollars in donor funding, has been turned into a personal get-rich-quick scheme by the public servant who heads it up, leaving the farmers who are supposed to benefit out of pocket and unable to grow their businesses. This public servant