Police Commissioner Advocate Borotho Matsoso had not responded by late last night to a request from journalist Kananelo Boloetse for a virtual meeting with police investigators, even though the request gave him until today on 9 October 2026, to reply.
As it stands, the meeting does not look likely to take place today. Boloetse, the Editor of this publication, was abducted on 5 September. His lawyer, Advocate Fusi Sehapi, first wrote to the Commissioner on 2 October 2026, requesting the meeting to speed up the police investigation, now more than a month old.
When that letter went unanswered, Adv Sehapi wrote again yesterday, asking Matsoso to say whether the virtual meeting would go ahead today. This time he copied the letter to Prime Minister Ntsokoane Matekane and Police Minister Voeswa Tsheka.
There was still no response when this paper went to press last night.
Newsday saw a copy of the follow-up letter, which bore the stamps of all three offices where it was received: the Commissioner’s, the Prime Minister’s and the Minister’s. Adv Sehapi titled it “Request for virtual meeting with the investigating team on or before Friday 9 October, 2026, regarding his abduction, assault, attempted murder and death threats.”
“Reference is made to the above heading and our letter of legal demand dated 2 October, 2026,” Adv Sehapi noted.
He continued: “Police have been up and down looking for the whereabouts of client, Mr Kananelo Boloetse. However, it is our understanding that the police must not look for the person (corpus)of either Boloetse or his lawyer/s, but for the allegedly lacking information regarding his abduction, assault, attempted murder and death threats so that justice may be done for him and unto his perpetrators.
“We and client have made a clear offer to avail ourselves to avail such information virtually but no response came forth, hence this follow up letter requesting to know whether the virtual meeting is proceeding tomorrow the 9th October, 2026, or not.”
The offer comes after the police and government insisted that Boloetse should report in person. Sehapi said the Prime Minister, the Minister of Police and the Commissioner of Police have made it clear that “absent such information, plus client’s body, client shall never get justice hence Client’s corporation and readiness to provide any such necessary information allegedly lacking, provided it may be in his possession or knowledge and does not compromise his privacy and security”.
Adv Sehapi said it was appropriate for Boloetse to exhaust all “local remedies by doing all what is available in his power to assist the police before he could jump to conclude that the police and the government failed and/or refused to do justice to his case so that he may finally, with a clear conscience, take other alternative means of appropriate and effective redress as contemplated by the Constitution”.
Summary
- It is our understanding that the police must not look for the person (corpus)of either Boloetse or his lawyer/s, but for the allegedly lacking information regarding his abduction, assault, attempted murder and death threats so that justice may be done for him and unto his perpetrators.
- Sehapi said the Prime Minister, the Minister of Police and the Commissioner of Police have made it clear that “absent such information, plus client’s body, client shall never get justice hence Client’s corporation and readiness to provide any such necessary information allegedly lacking, provided it may be in his possession or knowledge and does not compromise his privacy and security”.
- Adv Sehapi said it was appropriate for Boloetse to exhaust all “local remedies by doing all what is available in his power to assist the police before he could jump to conclude that the police and the government failed and/or refused to do justice to his case so that he may finally, with a clear conscience, take other alternative means of appropriate and effective redress as contemplated by the Constitution”.
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.
