/HVRWKR $OHUW Date: April 10, 2012 Person/ institution: Lesotho National Broadcasting Service Violation/ issue: Expelled A crew from the Lesotho National Broadcasting Service (LNBS) was, on Monday 9 April 2012, barred from covering the opposition party All Basotho Convention’s (ABC) rally in Qacha’s Nek, nearly 150km from the capital, Maseru. LNBS senior television producer ‘Mapitso Ts’iu told the Lesotho Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Lesotho) that the crew was setting up their equipment in readiness to cover the rally when – in her own words – “the ABC leader told our crew to leave the rally because we are allegedly selectively about which of the ABC rallies we cover.” However, MISA-Lesotho is also concerned about the manner in which the ABC conducted itself during the Qacha’s Nek rally. Media freedom is one of the cornerstones of the same democracy that political parties like the ABC preach about in their manifestos. &RPPXQLTXp Date: June 4, 2012 Person/ Institution: Commonwealth Observer Group Violation/ issue: Other Former Malawi president and leader of the Commonwealth Observer Group in the just-ended Lesotho Parliamentary elections, Dr. Bakili Muluzi has commended the Lesotho Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISALesotho) for the positive role it played 6R7KLVLV'HPRFUDF\" during the elections. Addressing journalists and observers in Maseru on Tuesday 29 May, 2012, Muluzi praised MISA-Lesotho for working hard in ensuring that that responsible reporting of the election governed the media conduct. We commend the role played by the Media Institute of Southern Africa, Lesotho Chapter for organizing training workshops for journalists on how to responsibly cover the elections, he said. $OHUW Date: July 20, 2012 Person/ institution: Public media Violation/ issue: Censored Minister threatens opposition blackout On July 19 2012 Lesotho’s Minister of Public Works, Keketso Rantšo who is also Secretary General of the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), has threatened to ban public media from covering the opposition Lesotho Democratic Congress (DC), according to a report in the Lesotho Times newspaper. Rantšo is reported to have announced in a press conference in Maseru that “the government had made a decision to bar public media from providing coverage to the DC unless former Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili refrains from delivering speeches that incite violence.” The Media Institution of Southern Africa (MISA) Lesotho Chapter is concerned that Minister Rantšo’s immediate response to the issue is to threaten the media, as opposed to challenging the source, Mr. Mosisili, directly on this important matter. Too often the media is used as a scapegoat to settle political scores.