Lesotho Times

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Lesotho Times is an English-language weekly newspaper in Lesotho , which is published in print and online . The newspaper was founded in 2008. Their motto is News without fear or favor (for example: "News without fear and partiality").

history

Foundation and events until 2015

The newspaper was founded in Maseru in 2008 . The editor is Basildon Peta, nominal editor-in-chief Lloyd Mutungamiri. Peta had received the MISA Press Freedom Award from the Media Institute of Southern Africa in 1994 for his work. Peta and Mutungamiri come from Zimbabwe - Peta was a correspondent for the British Independent in his home country until 2002 - and are also responsible for the Sunday Express , which was founded in 2009 and a weekly newspaper in Lesotho that appears on Sundays. The publishing company is Africa Media Holding.

The Lesotho Times reported extensively on the state crisis in 2014 and the following events. After the newspaper reported charges of treason and murder against suspected coup leaders in an article , Mutungamiri and another reporter were charged with defamation in September 2014 ; however, no trial took place. The work of the Phumaphi Commission set up by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in 2015 was extensively acknowledged and its report, which among other things called for the dismissal of the Lesotho Defense Force commander , Kennedy Tlali Kamoli , was linked in a conspicuous place on the website.

Prosecution and attack in 2016

On June 23, 2016, Mutungamiri and the journalist Keiso Mohloboli were summoned for interrogation by the Lesotho authorities, and on July 8 of the same year, Peta was charged with criminal defamation and crimen injuria . The reason was a column written under the pseudonym Scrutator in the Lesotho Times on June 23, in which the alleged omnipotence Kamolis was satirically depicted. Another article reported that Kamoli had been offered 40 million maloti (around 2.5 million euros, as of July 2016) by the government to persuade him to withdraw. On July 11, an attack was carried out on Mutungamiri near Mutungamiri's home in Maseru, in which he was critically injured by a shot in the jaw. His wife blamed the Lesotho Defense Force for the crime. Mutungamiri was moved to South Africa for security reasons; Keiso Mohloboli also fled to South Africa on July 18.

The attack followed similar attacks against Kamoli opponents, in which, among other things, the former military chief Maaparankoe Mahao was shot and the political scientist and blogger Mafa Sejanamane narrowly escaped. Amnesty International saw freedom of expression in Lesotho at risk and asked the government to investigate the attack. Harvest FM radio reporter Bongani Faki received death threats during the same period.

In December 2017, five LDF soldiers, including a brigadier , were arrested and charged in connection with the attack.

In May 2018, the Lesotho Constitutional Court declared the law that Peta had been charged with in 2016 to be unconstitutional.

In July 2018, Amnesty International again commented on the Mutungamiri case and demanded that the court proceed as quickly as possible, especially since Mutungamiri is still unable to work.

description

Lesotho Times is published every Friday as a print edition and reaches around 16,000 readers in Lesotho and South Africa . The four-color newspaper appears in tabloid format. The articles deal primarily with Lesotho and Africa, including topics such as politics, economy, culture and sport. The corresponding online edition can be accessed free of charge. In addition to the editor-in-chief, seven reporters work for the newspaper.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b New Sunday paper coming. lestimes.com, July 9, 2009, accessed July 18, 2016
  2. ↑ Portraits of the award winners at misa.org (English), accessed on July 18, 2016
  3. ^ Lesotho: SADC elephants fight journalists trampled upon. ( Memento from July 18, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) changezimbabwe.com from September 22, 2014 (English)
  4. ↑ a b Lesotho: Shooting of newspaper editor is a chilling attack on freedom of expression. Amnesty International, July 11, 2016, accessed July 18, 2016
  5. ^ A Lesotho reporter recounts hours of tense and intimidating interrogation. Daily Maverick, July 24, 2016, accessed July 26, 2016
  6. ^ Lesotho Times publisher charged. lestimes.com, July 8, 2016, accessed July 18, 2016
  7. ^ Editor moved to Bloemfontein. thepost.co.ls of July 18, 2016, accessed July 18, 2016
  8. ↑ Lesotho Times journalist 'flees to South Africa amid fears for her safety'. news24.com from July 19, 2016, accessed on July 21, 2016
  9. ^ Lesotho Times editor shot, relocated for medical attention; more media threats. Media Institute of Southern Africa, July 12, 2016, accessed July 18, 2016
  10. ^ Soldiers on trial over attack on Lesotho Times editor. africanindy.com from December 14, 2017 (English), accessed December 14, 2017
  11. ^ Lesotho Constitutional Court declares criminal defamation unconstitutional. cpj.org of May 22, 2018 (English), accessed on May 27, 2018
  12. ↑ Lesotho: still no justice for attempted murder of newspaper editor. Amnesty International , July 2018, accessed July 10, 2018
  13. ↑ a b Lesotho Times contact page , accessed July 18, 2016
  14. ↑ Current covers of Lesotho Times at globalnewspapers.today, accessed on July 18, 2016