STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA REPORT 2021 38 country holds major elections. Cases of journalists, who are unlawfully arrested, harassed, assaulted and tortured by State security agents and political activists were recorded during the period under review. (3) There are fears that the violations will escalate in 2022 as the country prepares for general elections in September. Some of the prominent violations during the period under review included the detention of 357FM presenter Lebese Molati in November 2021 over his reports on the privately-owned private radio station about the alleged disappearance of guns belonging to the police. Molati was released without a charge after he was tortured and forced to reveal the whereabouts of a police source he had interviewed. His station, 357FM’s operations were suspended by the Lesotho Communications Authority the same month for alleged non-compliance with broadcasting regulations. MEDIA INDEPENDENCE The independence of Lesotho’s media industry is compromised by dominance by the government when it comes to the advertising spend with 80 percent contribution as the country has a small private sector. The government uses the advantage of this position to employ a carrot and stick strategy against critical media outlets. Such a situation promotes self-censorship in the media as outlets tend to toe the line for their own survival. Another big threat to media independence comes from the judiciary. On November 15, 2021, a Lesotho Times court journalist Mohalenyane Phakela was barred from covering the courts by Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane over stories published by the newspaper. (4) Sakoane declared that Phakela will not be allowed to report on the courts until his editor apologised. In another incident during the same month, police raided a radio station, PCFM, to interrogate journalist Teboho Ratalane over his journalism work. INTERNET ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY Journalist Lebese Mola� CREDIT: Bokomoso/Twi�er Lesotho has a 90 percent 3G coverage, but according to various reports, 57 percent of the country’s citizens do not use the internet. (5)