Access to information
In Lesotho, however, there is no legal right to access of information and it is difficult for the media to obtain official information. This makes it difficult for the media to fulfill its role as a watchdog of the government and other institutions.
MISA Lesotho actively advocates for the implementation of the Receipt and Access to Information Bill, which was drafted in 2000 but has still not progressed through parliament. We also support grassroots organisations in their push for information access and are active in public education on the importance of such legislation.
MISA Lesotho also celebrates Universal Access to Information Day (Right to Know Day) every year on 28th September.
Access to information news from our chapters
ALTERED: Digitally manipulated video falsely shows South African woman physically assaulting a foreign shop owner
Nicole Tau A video (archived here) shared on Facebook claims to show a South African woman physically assaulting the owner of a foreign-run spaza shop, an informal township grocery store, during an argument over business licenses and regulatory compliance. In the...
FALSE: School closure in Eastern Cape isn’t due to deportation of foreign nationals
Nicole Tau A video on Facebook with a caption claiming that schools in South Africa's Eastern Cape are closing because foreign nationals are being deported is false. The video, which is seemingly from legitimate news footage, carried the text: “Eastern Cape Schools...
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...
FALSE: Lesotho’s 2026 Census Results Have Not Yet Been Released
The circulating figures are unverified, demographically inaccurate, and do not originate from official data. Nicole Tau A viral Facebook post claiming that Lesotho’s 2026 Population and Housing Census recorded a population of 2.1 million people, including 600,000 men...
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...