Twelve days after Newsday editor and human rights defender Kananelo Boloetse was abducted and tortured, the government has still not issued an official statement on the matter, a silence that National Assembly Speaker Tlohang Sekhamane says raises troubling questions about what authorities may be hiding.
Boloetse, who is also president of the rights group Section 2, was abducted by three unidentified men at his home in Katlehong, Maseru, on the evening of 5 September 2026. Since then, only Communications Minister Nthati Moorosi has publicly condemned the attack and called for swift action, while the rest of government has remained silent.
The disguised attackers with covered faces, forced Boloetse into their car and drove him 24 kilometres from Maseru to Thaba-Bosiu, where they took turns torturing him before abandoning him for dead near the Phuthiatsana river.
In his account of the ordeal, Boloetse has narrated how the irate men interrogated him about his work, both as a journalist and rights activist, while he was being subjected to torment.
Before leaving him almost lifeless, one of the attackers threatened to shoot him and dump his body in the river, Boloetse said. He had noticed two of them handling pistols when they forced him from his home that evening.
A passing motorist eventually found Boloetse, stopped to help, and drove him in his Sprinter minibus to the nearest army base, from where he was taken to Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Boloetse reported the attack to police himself the following day and gave a statement at Police Headquarters in Maseru. Yet Police Commissioner Advocate Borotho Matsoso told a press briefing on 10 September that investigators had made no breakthrough because they could not locate Boloetse to assist with the investigation, accusing his colleagues at Newsday of concealing his whereabouts.
Fearing for his life, Boloetse has since gone into hiding, because his abductors threatened to end his life the next time they see him alive.
The attack has sent shockwaves through the country and abroad, with several international bodies issuing statements condemning it and calling on Lesotho authorities to launch an independent investigation.
Despite this, the government has yet to issue any official public statement, a silence that prompted opposition MP for Matlakeng and United Africans Transformation (UAT) leader Dr Mahali Phamotse to press the Speaker in parliament this week on when government would finally address the matter.
Rising on a point of order, Dr Phamotse said: “I stand to speak on the issue concerning Mr Kananelo Boloetse, Honourable Speaker.”
She noted that parliament had briefly discussed Boloetse’s case the previous Friday, “because government was said to be ready.”
“Mr Kananelo Boloetse, was abducted, assaulted, and came back the way that he did. He reported his ordeal to the police, we now have proof of that. We discussed this briefly on Friday, but the Honourable Leader of the House then said the government was not prepared (to discuss the matter). I find this matter (of Boloetse) to be disturbing, serious and urgent.”
She argued that the delay in producing an official statement was itself suspicious.
“This, really, is a serious matter. We wonder whether we are still safe. There could be next victim in line, to undergo similar ordeal, if the government continues to handle this matter lightly the way it does,” she warned.
Phamotse said parliament was dissatisfied, “and the nation can see that something is not going right with government on Boloetse issue.”
She added that the case was damaging Lesotho’s reputation, “and places Lesotho on bad record with the international community in so far as crime records are concerned.”
Phamotse went further, suggesting government involvement was suspected.
“We have heard through the grapevine that the government is implicated. And people cannot stop speculating if the government cannot be seen to be addressing this matter publicly and with urgency. People disappear and come back assaulted under this regime. We need an official statement from the government,” she said.
Responding, Speaker Sekhamane said he had, on parliament’s behalf, already requested that government prepare an official statement, adding that the administration would remain under a cloud of suspicion for as long as it stayed silent.
Sekhamane said he had hoped that an address scheduled for that day by the Minister of Finance, Dr Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane, would touch on the Boloetse matter.
When she gave no indication that it would, he pressed the point directly: “Honorable members, hear me out, please I beg you to listen carefully. If the upcoming address from Honourable Minister of Finance is not going to address the issue on Mr Kananelo Boloetse, I should be made aware now by the Honorable Minister (of Finance) if her address is about Mr Kananelo Boloetse, if not so, I will notice by her silence and then I will continue with what I intend to say.”
Receiving no response from Dr Matlanyane, he continued: “On Friday, there was a matter concerning Mr Kananelo Boloetse that was tabled for discussion. Kananelo Boloetse is a journalist, and he is involved in the business matters of Section 2. It is alleged he was abducted by some unidentified individuals. We then, on Friday, said we need to know from government what happened.
“What is it that the government officially knows about this issue, especially because this person is a practising journalist in Lesotho. These kinds of things happen in other countries, where we see journalists being harassed and victimised by some states, not because of their physical features, but simply because they are journalists.
“We see this happen in some countries elsewhere. Sometimes because the journalists report in a manner not consistent with the government of the day.”
Echoing Phamotse’s concerns, Sekhamane did not mince his words: “This matter is serious and dangerous if left unattended by authorities. Why is the government silent on this matter. What are we harboring? Are we guilty of something? If not, why are we so silent? Why is the government so silent? I requested expressly for the government to deliver an official statement. If they they had heeded to my advice and issued an official public statement, I would not hesitate to reply to this inquiry by Honourable Member for Matlakeng. I would just refer to the government’s official statement. I, expressly requested the government to issue an official statement,” the Speaker said.
The government’s silence has been mirrored by apparent reluctance on the part of police to pursue the investigation. Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) spokesperson Superintendent Thabo Mohai has now admitted, after some confusion over the timeline, that investigators have in fact been in contact with Boloetse, contradicting earlier claims that he could not be reached.
This follows last week’s statement by Commissioner Matsoso that police were unable to get hold of Boloetse to clarify details in the statement he gave after the attack. Supt Mohai himself initially told a local radio station that, as of Wednesday this week, the investigating team had still not succeeded in reaching Boloetse.
However, Newsday can reveal that Boloetse spoke to Senior Inspector Petje Teke, who identified himself as head of the team investigating the case. The conversation, which began shortly before midday on Wednesday, lasted more than two hours.
When this publication contacted Supt Mohai the following day, he said he had only been made aware of the development that Thursday morning.
“While I cannot talk about the names of our officers, I can confirm that our investigators have been in contact with Mr Boloetse. I learned about this development upon arrival at work on Thursday morning,” Supt Mohai said.
Summary
- Twelve days after Newsday editor and human rights defender Kananelo Boloetse was abducted and tortured, the government has still not issued an official statement on the matter, a silence that National Assembly Speaker Tlohang Sekhamane says raises troubling questions about what authorities may be hiding.
- In his account of the ordeal, Boloetse has narrated how the irate men interrogated him about his work, both as a journalist and rights activist, while he was being subjected to torment.
- Despite this, the government has yet to issue any official public statement, a silence that prompted opposition MP for Matlakeng and United Africans Transformation (UAT) leader Dr Mahali Phamotse to press the Speaker in parliament this week on when government would finally address the matter.
I am a journalist based in Maseru, Lesotho, renowned for investigative reporting. Over the years, my work has been published both locally and internationally, including in South Africa through the Amabhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism and the Daily Maverick, among other publications.
In Lesotho, I have served as a senior reporter for several leading weekly newspapers, including the Lesotho Times, Public Eye, and Sunday Express. My reporting has focused on uncovering issues of public interest, promoting accountability, and giving voice to underreported stories.
In 2016, I co-founded the MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism in Maseru, an initiative dedicated to strengthening investigative journalism and fostering a culture of transparency and public-interest reporting in Lesotho.
