State of the media in Southern Africa - 2004 respondent, along with a two other local newspapers and a number of private individuals. Mohahlaula’s equipment was returned on May 4 2004. • ALERT Date: May 19, 2004 Persons/Institutions: Ms. Nthabeleng Sefako (Radio Lesotho) Violation(s): Threatened On May 19 2004, Ms. Nthabeleng Sefako, editor of the Radio Lesotho’s current affairs phonein programme called “Seboping”, was threatened on the air by Minister of Home Affairs and Public Safety, Mr Thomas Motsoahae Thabane. During the programme that was hosted by Mr. Tale Kopeli, the Minister claimed that Ms. Safako needed to be “sorted out”. “She is a mere civil servant and yet she wants to dictate to me, a whole cabinet minister, how long my programme should be. Does she know that I came here as per government mandate?”, the minister fumed. He promised that he would “keep a close eye on her...” The minister was infuriated by the fact that the phone-in programme had been shortened to provide paid advertising space to the Lesotho Revenue Authority. • ALERT Date: August 6, 2004 Persons/Institutions: Mirror Violation(s): Legislation The newly established English tabloid newspaper “Our Times”, owned by a company registered as Soul to Soul, was served with summons by a local law firm, Nthethe and Company, on August 6 2004, on behalf of Voice Multimedia, which are publishers of the weekly English tabloid, “Public Eye” newspaper. The law firm, acting on behalf of “Public Eye” and Voice Multimedia, is demanding one hundred and thirty nine thousand Maloti and ninety four cents, as compensation for damages for defamation and injury to business status and reputation (approximately US$23 000). “Our Times” faces possible closure after being in existence for less than one month. In the “Our Times” edition of August 3 to 9, 2004, a front page article titled: ‘Thai sells Public Eye’ relates how the managing editor of “Public Eye”, who is also the director of Voice Multimedia, proprietors of “Public Eye”, has sold the newspaper to a South African company because he and his wife, intend to go into the printing press business. • ALERT Date: August 18, 2004 Persons/Institutions: Mirror Violation(s): Victory On August 18 2004, the “Mirror” newspaper, a weekly English tabloid, was served with a rescission order providing for the return of all its computer equipment by the sheriff of Lesotho’s High Court. This follows the seizure of the newspaper’s computer equipment after being served with a writ of execution in a civil defamation case filed by an individual named Nthakeng Pheello Selinyane on April 5 2004. • ALERT Date: September 10, 2004 Persons/Institutions: Justice Maqelepo, street vendors Violation(s): Beaten On September 10 2004, a local freelance journalist, Justice Maqelepo, was severely assaulted So This Is Democracy? 2004 57 Media Institute of Southern Africa