State of the media in Southern Africa - 2003 ■ ALERTS • DATE: February 17, 2003 PERSONS/INSTITUTIONS: Candi Ramainoane VIOLATIONS: Victory (positive judgement) O n February 17 2003, High Court Judge Semapo Peete ruled in favour of the weekly Sesotho tabloid newspaper MoAfrika. MoAfrika editor Candi Ratabane Ramainoane was summoned to court to explain why he should not be ordered to remove an announcement that appears in the top right-hand corner of the front page of every issue of his newspaper. Judge Peete rejected the argument that the announcement dealt with a matter that was before the courts and therefore could not be discussed publicly. He added that although the High Court was the bulwark of the essential freedoms of Lesotho’s newly acquired democracy, the press did not have “carte blanche” to abuse the rule against commenting on cases before the courts without good cause and a true sense of responsibility. Peete ruled that the MoAfrika announcement was protected by Section 14 of the Constitution, which upholds freedom of expression and press freedom. • DATE: May 15, 2003 PERSONS/INSTITUTIONS: Thabo Thakalekoala VIOLATIONS: Censored T habo Thakalekoala, sub-editor of Mopheme, a weekly English-language newspaper in Lesotho, has repeatedly been denied information relating to the treatment of Katleho Malataliana, a former member of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF). Malataliana was arrested in November 1998, along with other LDF members, and later convicted of mutiny against senior officers and the government. Thakalekoala’s investigation into the circumstances surrounding Malataliana’s hospitalisation began after he received several tips from family members and other patients at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital about the prisoner’s ill-treatment. Malataliana was transferred from Maseru Central Prison, where he had been incarcerated since 1999, in early April 2003 after he suffered a stroke. Thakalekoala has been investigating reports of possible human rights violations against Malataliana since being told that he was handcuffed and had his legs chained to his hospital bed. • DATE: June 16, 2003 PERSONS/INSTITUTIONS: MoAfrika Radio VIOLATIONS: Legislation (sued) L ate on June 16 2003, MoAfrika Radio went off the air until midday (local time) on June 17. The broadcast shutdown was intended to raise public attention and financial support to help the station pay off a civil defamation suit pending against it. On May 15 2003, MoAfrika Radio was served with a writ of execution by agents of the High Court of Lesotho to seize all movable property from the station’s premises as well as the personal property at Ramainoane’s residence. The court agents were informed that they could not continue with the seizure of property as Ramainoane was out of the country. They indicated that they would return to execute their duty at another date when the editor would be present. MoAfrika Radio faces closure due to a High Court judgment in favour of Moeketsi Sello in a civil defamation case. The judgment was passed on December 22 1999 and re-affirmed by the Appeals Court in October 2000. So This Is Democracy? 2003 37 Media Institute of Southern Africa