Heavily armed police yesterday disrupted a planned march to deliver a petition to the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) over the stalled investigation into the alleged abduction and torture of journalist Kananelo Boloetse.
The organisers were forced to hand over the petition to the Chief of Police Advocate Botho Matsoso without a demonstration. Hands Off Basotho has demanded immediate action over the kidnapping, torture and death threats against Boloetse.
In the petition letter, the organisers demanded for the perpetrators to be identified, arrested and prosecuted within seven days of receiving the petition.
But the police were highly visible around Setsoto Stadium, where marchers were set to assemble ahead of the demonstration to the police headquarters.
Boloetse, the Editor of Newsday, was by his own account, abducted on the night of 5 September at his home in Katlehong, Maseru, by three unidentified men with covered faces. He was tortured and abandoned at Thaba-Bosiu. A Good Samaritan found him by the roadside and took him to an army camp.
The march was organised by Hands Off Basotho, an organisation which says it fights for the rights of Basotho in Lesotho and South Africa and describes itself as apolitical.
Maseru City Council (MCC) Public Relations Manager Lintle Bless confirmed to this publication that the council had granted the organisers permission to march.
Police nevertheless stopped the march, citing the “absence” of a permit. Traffic police officer at Setsoto Stadium Sub-Inspector Mabea told this publication that officers were deployed to make sure the march did not go ahead because the organisers had no procession permit.
Hands Off Basotho President Semenyane Linale confirmed that the group had been barred from proceeding.
Police Spokesperson Superintendent Thabo Mohai said police could not have “given” a permit to an organisation whose legal standing they could not establish, saying it was not from Lesotho.
The same position was set out in a letter dated 29 September 2026 from Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Ts’eliso Moerane, the officer commanding Maseru Urban District, to the petitioners.
“This office acknowledges receipt of your formal notice dated 19th September 2026, wherein you express your intention to organize and mount a public protest match (sic) to the office of the Commissioner of Police on 8 October 2026. We note the purpose of your demonstration is to present a petition concerning the unresolved, alleged abduction and assault of journalist and human rights defender, Mr. Kananelo Boloetse.
“Upon perusal of your communication, this office notes that HANDS OFF BASOTHO lists its official operational base and address in Pretoria, South Africa. Prima facie, your entity appears to be an association or organization registered and operating from a foreign country.”
Newsday has established that Hands Off Basotho is registered and operates in South Africa.
Senior ACP Moerane’s letter continues:
“Consequently, this office hereby requests formal clarification as to whether HANDS OFF BASOTHO is registered with the Registrar of Societies within the Kingdom of Lesotho pursuant to the Societies Act of Lesotho.
“You are requested to furnish this office with the aforementioned clarification and supporting documentation at your earliest convenience to allow for the lawful processing and final determination of your protest your notice,(sic).”
The Public Meetings and Processions Act 2010, which governs marches and protests, requires anyone wishing to hold a public meeting or procession to notify the police officer in command of the jurisdiction where it will take place. It also provides that if the police decline, an appeal may be lodged with the Minister of Police.
Lesotho is also party to the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Article 11 provides that:
“Every individual shall have the right to assemble freely with others. The exercise of this right shall be subjected only to necessary restrictions provided for by law, in particular those enacted in the interest of national security, the safety, health, ethics and rights and freedoms of others.”
More than a month after Boloetse was abducted, tortured and left near dead, police have made no arrests and there has been little visible progress in tracking down his abductors.
Asked for the latest developments, the police spokesperson was less than impressed and, told this publication that investigations were continuing and that police would give an update once there is a breakthrough.
Last week, at a press conference convened by Prime Minister Ntsokoane Matekane, the Prime Minister repeated the police position that Boloetse should report the matter in person, even though police have been communicating with him.
Part of Hands Off Basotho’s petition handed to the police reads:
“This petition is triggered by the recent barbaric kidnapping, severe torture, and death threats inflicted upon human rights activist and journalist Kananelo Boloetse by unidentified individuals. This heinous crime is not an isolated incident; it reflects a dark, recurring, and systematic pattern of torture, abductions, and extrajudicial killings historically perpetrated against Basotho citizens by the very security institutions legally mandated to protect them,” the organisation said.
The organisation further said in the petition that citizens had become “completely exhausted”, accusing institutions entrusted with their safety of becoming places of terror and calling for an end to what it described as brutality and state-sponsored violence.
It also called for an end to what it described as state-sponsored torture, illegal detention and systematic intimidation of journalists, activists and ordinary Basotho by security agencies.
The organisation warned that if its demands are not met within seven days, it will escalate its peaceful actions, including public demonstrations, until what it described as a definitive solution and complete justice are achieved.
“Justice for Boloetse is Justice for all Basotho!” the petition concludes.
Summary
- “This office acknowledges receipt of your formal notice dated 19th September 2026, wherein you express your intention to organize and mount a public protest match (sic) to the office of the Commissioner of Police on 8 October 2026.
- The Public Meetings and Processions Act 2010, which governs marches and protests, requires anyone wishing to hold a public meeting or procession to notify the police officer in command of the jurisdiction where it will take place.
- The exercise of this right shall be subjected only to necessary restrictions provided for by law, in particular those enacted in the interest of national security, the safety, health, ethics and rights and freedoms of others.
Thoboloko Ntšonyane is a dedicated journalist who has contributed to various publications. He reports on accountability, human rights, exposes corruption and wrong doing by those in power. He reports have exposed corruption, abuse of power, fraud, misconduct and negligence. He subscribes to evidence-based reporting. He reports on governance, parliament, courts, climate change, human rights, sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), health, business and agriculture. He gives a voice to the marginalised while also demanding accountability. His work inspires change, triggers dialogue and also promote transparency in a society.
