Amnesty International has urged the authorities in Lesotho to intervene and take action against the threats made against Phafane Nkotsi, a journalist and the owner of the Lesotho Tribune. The human rights organization made this call following the Lesotho Tribune’s publication of allegations of corruption at the Public Officers Defined Contribution Fund, also known as the “pension fund”.
On April 17, the newspaper’s staff found three threatening notes on their newsroom desks, warning Nkotsi to “stay away from Pension Fund issues if you still value peace in your household”. These threats came in the wake of the newspaper running a series of articles investigating corruption at the pension fund, two of which were published in late January and early February. These articles have led to Nkotsi being a target of harassment and intimidation.
Tigera Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, labelled these threats as “despicable” and exhorted the Lesothan authorities to ensure the safety of Nkotsi and his family. Authorities are urged to address these reports of harassment, intimidation and threats against Nkotsi promptly, independently and impartially, and to bring those responsible for these actions to justice in fair trials.
Earlier this year, after the publication of the articles, Mergence Investment Managers, the private asset management firm that was accused of enforcing its interests at the pension fund, filed an application with the High Court of Lesotho to prevent the Lesotho Tribune from publishing additional articles in the series. This application was dismissed, but the newspaper is still facing ongoing defamation cases relating to its corruption coverage.
As of yet, there has been no response from the Lesothan authorities to Amnesty International’s statement. However, on April 23, the government announced the revival of the District Anti-Corruption Committee, as part of a larger initiative to combat corruption in the Southern African country.
More information can be found in the original article from JURIST – News.