...while Basotho are also banned from listening to famo music
MEDIA practitioners will now be charged criminally should they continue to report about the recently outlawed famo gangs, Acting Police Commissioner, Mahlape Morai, has said.
The startling development surfaced during the Lesotho Mounted Police Services (LMPS)'s weekly press briefing on Tuesday.
Addressing journalists gathered at the Police Headquarters in Maseru, Dr Morai said the media was now barred from publishing or broadcasting issues related to members of the infamous famo groups which were declared unlawful through a 10 May 2024 government gazette.
The famo groups have been largely blamed for the spate of murders and other violent crimes that have earned Lesotho the dubious distinction of being the sixth most homicidal nation in the world.
The gazette was issued by the Minister of Local Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs and Police, Lebona Lephema, in terms of section 11 of the Internal Security General Act 1984 which empowers the government to ban entities deemed unlawful as well as sanction anyone financing them.
Dr Morai said punitive measures would now be taken against media outlets or reporters who cover famo related activities or mention them in their coverage.
This because the famo gangs had been outlawed and therefore it was now illegal to talk about them.
"As long as you are encouraging and promoting them (famo), you are supporting the groups that have been outlawed. If their music makes you happy, you are supporting them," Dr Morai said.
"If you are Lesotho Times, and you go to those people then tell the whole Lesotho that you spoke to famo groups and then publish what they said, you are promoting what is not existing in Lesotho and that is unlawful.
"When you do it for your own consumption as an individual not on the basis of Lesotho Times we don't have a problem. The problem is when you print or broadcast those issues because I am going to perceive the Lesotho Times as promoting groups declared unlawful."
She continued: "According to this (new) law, it is a crime to support any of those groups or promote or encourage their interests. So, listening to their music means you are supporting them, which amounts to criminal activity.
"You are encouraging and promoting them when you are entertained by their music."
However, Dr Morai's stance flies in the face of constitutional guarantees on freedom of expression and association as enshrined in the national constitution.
Section 14 of the Constitution is clear that: "Every person shall be entitled to, and......shall not be hindered in his own enjoyment of, freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions without interference, freedom to receive ideas and opinions without interference......Freedom to communicate ideas and information without interference (whether the communication be to the public generally or to any person or class of persons) and freedom from interference with his correspondence."
The LMPS's Principal Legal Officer, Senior Superintendent Linda Maiseng, insisted in a separate interview with the Lesotho Times that Dr Morai's position was correct and constitutional.
He argued that constitutional rights were not absolute. They could be limited to protect the rights of others.
"Section 4 of the constitution also states that there are limitations to such rights and this (new) law has been enacted in order to limit those rights (to protect the rights of others)," SSP Maiseng said.
Section 4 allows the limitation of rights to ensure that "......the enjoyment of the said rights and freedoms by any person does not prejudice the rights and freedoms of others or the public interest."
However, Dr Morai's limitation of the media's rights to freedom of expression is overarching and patently unconstitutional. It cannot be justified in terms of the limitation cause.
Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA-Lesotho Chapter) chairperson, Kananelo Boloetse, expressed concern over Dr Morai's stance saying it was not a reasonable justification to limit the media's freedom of expression.
"MISA Lesotho is deeply concerned and unequivocally condemns the recent statements made by the acting commissioner of police regarding the media's coverage of certain famo music groups.
"Declaring these groups as subversive and illegal, and subsequently criminalizing media interviews and the playing of their music, is a flagrant violation of media freedom and independence," Mr Boloetse said, adding the acting commissioner had no right to tell the media what it should or should not publish.
If the acting commissioner's wholesale ban is implemented, it means the media would even be barred from covering the famo groups' court cases if the latter proceed to implement their threats to challenge their bans in the courts.
Court proceedings are nonetheless public processes.
Criminalizing their reportage would be patently illegal.
"The commissioner's directive that media outlets should cease interviewing members of these groups and refrain from broadcasting their music is an egregious overreach of authority. This attempt to muzzle the press under the guise of maintaining public order is not only unconstitutional but also sets a dangerous precedent for censorship and the suppression of free speech.
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"It is imperative to remind the commissioner that the role of the media is to inform the public, foster diverse viewpoints, and uphold the principles of free expression as enshrined in both our national constitution and international human rights conventions. The media must operate without fear of retribution or censorship from governmental authorities," Mr Boloetse said.
"It is not the place of the police to dictate what constitutes acceptable content for media consumption," he added, urging Dr Morai to withdraw her statement.
"We call upon the Commissioner of Police to retract these undemocratic statements immediately and to respect the essential role of the media in our society. We also urge all media houses to resist this blatant intimidation and to continue their crucial work of providing unbiased and comprehensive news coverage."
As per Mr Boloetse's exhortation, Dr Morai's prohibition has no basis in law.
