Media and elections
2017 election project: Live simultaneous broadcast for professional reporting
MISA Lesotho, with the support of Open Society Initiative in Southern Africa, embarked in an innovative initiative reporting initiative for the National Assembly elections held on 3rd June, 2017.
The project consisted of training and coordinating 40 journalists – four in each of the 10 districts of Lesotho – who reported live through MISA Lesotho’s broadcasting studio. (The audio and video can be found here). This reporting was broadcast simultaneously by 12 participating radio stations.
The 2017 reporting project was designed to ensure that a team of journalists trained on the media’s electoral code were able to report independently and credibly rather than reporting in a politically polarised manner.
Media and election news from our chapters
Who Gets to Call It “News”? The Fight for Real Journalism in Lesotho
Nicole Tau Every journalist eventually has to accept a basic truth: people enter this field for vastly different reasons. Some are driven by a noble duty to inform, while others are motivated by influence, sensation, or profit. That is simply human nature. But what...
Partly False: Lesotho’s Constitution and Trade Laws Prohibit Private Land Sales to Foreigners and Reserve Small Business Sectors for Citizens
While foreign nationals can invest in certain sectors, Lesotho's Constitution prohibits private ownership of land by anyone, and the country's trade laws reserve numerous small-business sectors exclusively for Basotho citizens. Nicole Tau A Facebook post published in...
From Kigali to Maseru: Rewriting the ‘Invisible Rules’ of Gender, Media, and Power in Lesotho
Nicole Tau Acting National Director, MISA-Lesotho The most powerful barriers are often the ones we cannot see. They don't appear in legislation or constitutions. They live in the questions we ask, the headlines we write, the jokes we laugh at and the expectations we...
PARTLY FALSE: Sherwood Gathering Exceeded 7,000, but Census Data Contradicts Claims of Millions of Malawians in South Africa
Nicole Tau A Facebook post shared on 13 June 2026 claims that the number of Malawian nationals gathered at Sherwood Community Park in Durban surged from 5,000 to 7,000 in a single day. It goes further, alleging that South Africa is home to "MILLIONS”" of undocumented...
Fact-check: Statement addressing the issue of targeted politicians is from an imposter account, not Prime Minister Matekane
By Maleshoane Ratsebe A Facebook post allegedly by Lesotho Prime Minister Sam Matekane addressing alleged political targets on members of parliament, Education Minister and United Africans Transformation (UAT) leader Mahali Phamotse, Basotho Covenant Movement (BCM)...