Building the Future of Policing in Lesotho

How T-Connect and the Lesotho Mounted Police Service are laying the digital foundations for a safer nation

By Keiso Mohloboli

The next generation of police officers will not be defined solely by the badge they wear or the vehicle they drive.
They will be defined by the networks they are connected to, the intelligence they can access in real time, the cyber threats they can investigate, and the technology that enables them to protect citizens in an increasingly digital world.
Across the globe, policing is undergoing one of the most significant transformations in its history.
Artificial intelligence is helping investigators identify criminal patterns before crimes occur. Digital forensics is solving cases that once went cold. Cybercrime units are pursuing criminals operating across international borders, while secure communications, cloud-based command centres and connected technologies are reshaping how officers respond to emergencies.

The nature of crime has changed.
Policing must change with it.
Last week in Maseru, Lesotho took an important step in that direction.
The signing of a five-year Memorandum of Cooperation between T-Connect Lesotho and the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) was far more than another official ceremony. It marked the beginning of a long-term partnership designed to strengthen one of the country’s most important institutions through digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, specialised skills development and innovation.
For countries across Africa, this shift carries particular urgency.
As governments digitise services, financial systems move online and internet access expands, the opportunities created by technology are accompanied by increasingly sophisticated threats. Cybercrime, digital fraud, identity theft and attacks on critical infrastructure continue to grow, making digital readiness an essential pillar of national security.
Protecting citizens today requires police services that are as capable in cyberspace as they are on the ground.
Recognising this reality, T-Connect Lesotho has committed itself to supporting the digital transformation of the LMPS by helping build the infrastructure, capabilities and skills required for modern policing.
The signing ceremony brought together senior members of the police command, executives from T-Connect Lesotho and representatives of the United States Embassy, including Political and Economic Chief Mr Sean Lawlor, Regional Security Chief Mrs Monica Schneider and Foreign Service National Investigator Mrs ‘Mathaha Motseko.
Their presence reflected the growing importance of partnerships that strengthen digital resilience, institutional capacity and public safety.

While technology formed the centrepiece of the agreement, the conversations throughout the ceremony consistently returned to one theme: people.
For T-Connect Lesotho Managing Director, Advocate Phelane Phomane, digital transformation is not about replacing police officers with technology. It is about giving them better tools to fulfil the responsibility they already carry.
“Through your work, our country becomes safer,” he told officers gathered at the ceremony.
“Your responsibility is not an easy one. Every day you carry the responsibility of protecting lives, maintaining law and order and ensuring peace across our communities. Through this Memorandum, we are making a commitment to support your work.”
His remarks reflected a philosophy increasingly embraced around the world: technology delivers its greatest value when it empowers people.
That journey, he explained, has already begun.
Over recent months, T-Connect has strengthened connectivity across Police Headquarters, the Police Training College and the police fleet, creating the digital foundation upon which future systems will operate.
“What we are doing is not complicated,” Advocate Phomane said.
“We are building the digital foundation that modern policing requires. Connectivity is only the beginning.”
The next phase of the partnership will move beyond infrastructure into capability building.
Plans include establishing a modern Computer Laboratory and Cyber Training Laboratory at the Police Training College, where officers will receive specialised training in cybersecurity, digital forensics and cybercrime investigations.
The facilities are expected to incorporate secure communications technologies, digital simulation platforms and specialised curricula designed to prepare officers for increasingly technology-driven policing environments.
The collaboration also creates opportunities to develop smarter approaches to policing through digital command-and-control systems, technology-enabled community policing, crime intelligence platforms, operational research and future public safety innovations.
For Advocate Phomane, these initiatives form part of a broader vision to strengthen institutions that will serve Basotho for generations to come.
“We are investing in skills, innovation and technology that will strengthen the operational capacity of the Lesotho Mounted Police Service and improve service delivery to every Mosotho.”
One lighter moment during the ceremony drew smiles from those in attendance when he congratulated Commissioner of Police Advocate Borotho Matsoso on leading the organisation into its next chapter.
“Ntate Commissioner, through this partnership you have fulfilled your task. You will now be able to report to His Majesty King Letsie III and the Right Honourable Prime Minister that meaningful progress is being made towards a digitally transformed police service.”
Commissioner Matsoso welcomed the partnership, describing it as perfectly aligned with the strategic direction recently adopted by the LMPS.
“We have just completed our Strategic Plan, and one of the key priorities is transitioning to digital transformation,” he said.

“The world is moving fast, and policing must move with it. This collaboration comes at exactly the right time.”
His remarks reflected a challenge confronting police organisations across the continent. Traditional policing methods remain essential, but they must now be complemented by technologies capable of responding to increasingly sophisticated criminal networks operating across digital platforms.
The Commissioner believes improved connectivity, digital systems and specialised training will significantly strengthen policing operations throughout the country.
“Our motto reminds us that ‘A Policeman, a Helper and a Friend’. Technology strengthens our ability to live up to that promise. The connectivity and digital solutions we are introducing today will help us realise our ambitions.”
Recalling a visit to the Police Training College in Eswatini, he described seeing first-hand how digital transformation was reshaping policing elsewhere in the region.
“When I saw what they had achieved, I became jealous,” he admitted with a smile.
“But it also inspired us. We realised that Lesotho must not be left behind.”
He encouraged officers across the country to embrace the technologies that will emerge from the partnership.
“I urge every police officer to utilise these systems effectively and responsibly and to encourage fellow officers to use them productively. Their value will only be realised if they become part of our everyday policing.”
The Memorandum establishes a framework for long-term collaboration rather than immediate financial commitments. Individual initiatives will be implemented through separate agreements and may be supported through government investment, development partners, technology grants and public-private partnerships.
Its objectives include strengthening cybersecurity capabilities, expanding digital policing competencies, improving operational efficiency, supporting research and innovation, and building institutional capacity throughout the police service.
For ordinary Basotho, however, the impact of this partnership will not be measured by laboratories, networks or technical systems.
It will be measured by faster emergency responses, stronger communication between police stations, better investigations, greater protection against cybercrime and a police service equipped to respond to the realities of a rapidly changing world.
When digital transformation succeeds, citizens rarely notice the technology itself.
They simply experience institutions that work better.
For T-Connect Lesotho, the agreement reflects a broader mission of helping build the digital infrastructure that enables national development. Reliable connectivity is not viewed as the destination, but as the foundation upon which stronger institutions, smarter public services and sustainable economic growth can be built.
The partnership with the LMPS is one example of what becomes possible when technology is applied with purpose.
Technology has often been described as the great equaliser.
It gives smaller nations the opportunity to leapfrog generations of infrastructure and adopt solutions designed for the future rather than the past.
For Lesotho, that opportunity is no longer theoretical.
The partnership between T-Connect Lesotho and the Lesotho Mounted Police Service reflects a shared belief that the country’s future will be strengthened not only by dedicated officers and effective leadership, but also by innovation, collaboration and the courage to prepare today for the challenges of tomorrow.
Years from now, the significance of this agreement is unlikely to be measured by the signatures placed on a Memorandum of Cooperation.
It will be measured by police officers better equipped to protect their communities, cyber threats prevented before they cause harm, young recruits trained for a digital era and the confidence of a nation that chose to invest in the future before the future demanded it.
If that vision is realised, the ceremony held in Maseru last week will be remembered not simply as the beginning of a partnership, but as one of the moments Lesotho made a deliberate decision to build the future of policing.

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