… as Justice Mathaba urges accountability and reform
Karabo Ramathe
Prime Minister Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane on Friday received the long-awaited report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS), following the December 2023 prison break at Maseru Central Correctional Institution, which left one inmate dead and another permanently disabled.
The report was formally handed over at the State House by the Chairperson of the Commission, Justice Realeboha Mathaba. The commission was established in response to public outrage over the prison escape and the broader concerns it exposed about the state of Lesotho’s correctional system.
Delivering remarks at the handover ceremony, Justice Mathaba described the inquiry as a “difficult but necessary” undertaking. He emphasised that the commission worked strictly within the confines of the law and expressed hope that the findings would serve as a watershed moment for accountability and reform within the LCS.
Mathaba revealed that the report is structured around four central themes: security, inmate-officer relations, rehabilitation, and institutional leadership. It opens with an executive summary followed by a set of targeted recommendations intended to overhaul operations within the correctional system.
On security, the report found that physical infrastructure, surveillance systems, and other security mechanisms were either inadequate or poorly maintained, factors that significantly contributed to the escape.
In examining inmate-officer relations, the commission found that strained interactions, marked by poor communication and mistreatment, had fueled discontent and unrest among inmates. Mathaba warned that such dynamics posed a serious threat to institutional stability.
The report also found that the LCS was failing in its rehabilitative mandate. “This is supposed to be a place of reform,” Mathaba said. “Inmates must leave prepared to live productive lives, but what we saw were conditions that dehumanised rather than rehabilitated.”
The leadership of the institution, particularly at senior levels, was also found wanting. The commission concluded that weak and unethical leadership had allowed a culture of abuse to take root. “As fish rots from the head,” Mathaba said, stressing the urgent need for competent and principled leadership across the service.
Over the course of 88 days, the commission heard testimony from 197 witnesses, including both inmates and prison staff. Justice Mathaba confirmed that 123 individuals were implicated in wrongdoing, and noted that 60 prisoners reported suffering severe abuse following the escape.
Among the worst perpetrators, he said, were LCS recruits undergoing training at the time. One victim was reportedly left permanently disabled due to the injuries sustained.
Receiving the report, Prime Minister Matekane commended the commission for its thorough work. “I appreciate the commission’s effort and the difficult task they undertook,” he said.
He promised decisive follow-through on the report’s recommendations. “In accordance with Section 8(2) of the Public Inquiries Act of 1994, I will table this report before both Houses of Parliament,” the Prime Minister said. “Thereafter, I will instruct the Minister of Law and Justice to implement the commission’s recommendations.”
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