interpretation in the absence of a media-specific law. Legal challenges Lesotho media continues to face threats from various quarters. These have come in the form of defamation cases instituted by private individuals and political figures, the most recent being a civil defamation case against The Mirror newspaper by the leader of Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP), Vincent Malebo. Malebo claims that an article which appeared in The Mirror newspaper of May 23 2003, entitled ‘Is Malebo rightful owner or the people?’, was defamatory to him since it insinuated that the plaintiff had unjustifiably kept property, in the form of two tractors belonging to a community in northern Maseru, and used them for his own personal gain. Typically, the newspaper lost the case in the High Court and Malebo was awarded sixty thousand Maloti, an amount which the publishing house could not afford to pay. As a result, The Mirror’s office equipment, including furniture and computers, was attached, and the newspaper now battles to produce an edition each week using hired equipment. It is important to note that if the courts force media houses to deplete their resources in payments, this is tantamount to gagging the media and defeating the freedom of speech entrenched in the constitution and in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Smart dialogue In a very rare occurrence, the government involved private media in consultations that led to the hosting of the Southern African International Dialogue (SAID) 2005 of the Smart Partnership Movement. The private media saw this as a positive move towards them by the state, although the government Secretary made it clear that they were involved so that maximum coverage could be gained to make SAID a success. Nevertheless, it gave private media professionals the opportunity to voice their discontent at the way in which they are sidelined by government when it comes to the release of information, with government media being favoured instead. Training There is still a critical need for the quality of reporting in Lesotho to be upgraded by further training. This in turn will lead to a greater degree of professionalism in the media sector. While much has been done with regard to the legislative environment, it remains to be seen whether this will lead to a free atmosphere for the media in future. So This Is Democracy? 2005 -53- Media Institute of Southern Africa