Investigative Journalism serves as the most indispensable component in as far as good governance and democratic consolidation is concerned. Journalists who strive to inform the public by investigating and covering controversial matters encounter life threatening challenges during the process.
Access to information is a nightmare in this country, especially due to lack of constitutional provisions and stipulations that may assist journalists as well as the public to easily access information from all government agencies, ministries and departments. Lesotho is a democratic state that acknowledges the United Nations sustainable development goals and access to information is a prerequisite which Lesotho is supposed to be working towards achieving. However, our country is still operating like an authoritarian state because information is still being concealed to keep citizens in the dark on important governance issues.
In November 2021, a prominent journalist from a privately-owned radio station who made reports about the alleged disappearance of guns belonging to the police, was tortured and forced to reveal the details of a police source he had interviewed concerning the matter. This case shows how backward we still are concerning ‘access to information’ and the government’s role in implementing and installing proper mechanisms to protect journalists who seek to enlighten the nation with important information. The fact that crime took place within an institution that is supposed to be fighting crime speaks volumes about the nature of police men and women we have in this country.
On the other hand, our police force seems to be out of order and rendering the country ungovernable through its incompetent personnel. What perpetuates this condition is the absence of an independent institution that could be empowered to decisively deal with corrupt and rogue police officers, especially those who bully and ill-treat civilians. Lesotho urgently needs an active office of the ‘Public Protector’, an independent institution that could swiftly assist the government in dealing with rampant ill-treatment of civilians and journalists against the rouge police force.
We are heading to polls in a few months and the abuse of journalists and politically active citizens has evidently began. The atmosphere is filled with the element of war and the little hope we had through the implementation of constitutional reforms has been shattered by the sudden closure of the National Reforms Authority even though it had not concluded its mandate. A delay in effecting the constitutional reforms might cause more harm and the current government seems not to be aware of the dangers of delaying to finalise the constitutional reforms. The slow rate at which the government is treading in terms of ensuring political stability through the implementation of constitutional reforms is breeding ground for Lesotho to become a failed state. To be continued
