MISA Lesotho issues this statement to condemn the arrest and detention of the Lesotho Time’s investigative journalist, Mohalenyane Phakela last night by the anti-corruption watchdog, DCEO, in what signals a deepening crisis for media freedom in Lesotho.
Phakela, also the news editor for Africa Media Holdings (Lesotho Times and Sunday Express), was arrested on Friday evening at his offices by the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offenses’ officials and ferried to the Maseru Central Charge Office, where he remains in detention. His mobile phone was confiscated and detained by the DCEO in process.
His real “offence”, it appears, was to publish a story titled: “DCEO probes LCS boss… over alleged theft of donated TVs”. The story is published on the Lesotho Times issue of Friday, August 28 – September 3, 2025.
Phakela’s lawyer, Adv. Christopher Lephuthing confirmed with MISA Lesotho this morning the developments regarding his client’s ordeal.
“He remains in detention after he was arrested last night. I was with him throughout the ordeal. I sought to secure his release until around 11:00PM but all my efforts failed. They requested that I should find him a blanket for his sleepover at the police station. I went back to my home with his (Phakela’s ) boss to get the blanket,” Adv. Lephuthing said.
Asked what Phakela is charged with, Adv. Lephuthing said: “The DCEO is not happy with the story about “DCEO probes LCS boss…”. They allege Phakela impersonated and disguised as if he was working for the DCEO when he investigated about the alleged TV sets that were allegedly donated to the LCS by a local business, but all that is not true, I know how Phakela handled that story as my client.”
Adv. Lephuthing added: “The Media Freedom is just being suffocated by the law enforcement agencies in this country. I know how journalism works; I studied journalism as part of my legal studies…”
Phakela’s case reflect a broader pattern: a state machinery increasingly intolerant of dissent and determined to shut down scrutiny. The arrest and detention of Phakela have a chilling effect not just on him and the AMH but on the entire media landscape in Lesotho.
Importantly, this legal onslaught, is strategically disruptive of the AMH operations. It diverts editorial focus, drains financial and human resources and pushes media institutions into operational distress. In an already fragile media economy, such sustained state pressure directly undermines media viability – weakening the capacity of independent media to function. Criminalising journalism this way is tantamount to dismantling the very infrastructure that supports a free press.
This is not simply an isolated attack on one media house. It is part of a broader attempt to criminalise critical journalism, intimidate newsrooms and establish a dangerous precedent where media freedom is systematically dismantled through judicial and economic means.
Lekhetho Makhanya Ntsukunyane
National Director (MISA Lesotho)
