Lesotho media freedom violations AND victories 9 February 2017 CENSORED Four days ahead of the commemoration of the World Radio Day on 13 February 2017, the government of Lesotho cut the broadcasting signals of two local radio stations, Ts’enolo FM (104.6MHZ) and People’s Choice FM (95.6 MHZ). According to the Principal Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology, Ts’eliso Khomari, the radio stations were taken off the air for alleged defamatory content about the country’s Prime Minister, Bethuel Mosisili, and Deputy Prime Minister, Mothejoa Metsing. 13 February 2017 NOTEWORTHY DEVELOPMENT BOYCOTT MISA Lesotho boycotted the World Radio Day commemoration on Monday, 13 February 2017. This decision was taken in support of Ts’enolo FM and People’s Choice FM which were temporarily taken off air by government in the previous week. MISA Lesotho is of the firm belief that the commemoration should reflect the Lesotho Government’s commitment to the day’s aspiration as set out by UNESCO. The government’s decision to defy the Court order to re-connect People’s Choice FM to LNBS antennas was seen by MISA Lesotho as a clear indication of the government’s intention to suppress freedom of the media and undermine the rule of law in Lesotho. 1 March 2017 CENSORED During a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili in Parliament, the media was moved out from the press gallery. According to journalists, a police officer ordered them to the public gallery, arguing that media accreditation issued exceeded the press gallery’s capacity. 10 MARCH 2017 THREATENED Ts’enolo FM, a private radio station in Lesotho, saw its political programmes radio presenter, Rets’epile Maloi, brought in for questioning by a panel of four officers from Lesotho Mounted Police Service immediately after his morning programme on 9 March 2017. The questioning which took more than 2 hours, was convened, according to the explanation given to him by the police, to discuss concerns arising from the conduct on his programme, Fika Le Mohala. The concerns raised included a segment on his programme where guests with different political standpoints were called in to debate burning issues. These arguments, according to the police, could incite violence among the general public. Police also pointed out that the listeners of Fika Le Mohala abused the Speech Withdrawal Principle by phoning in and deliberately abusing free speech and they were asked to withdraw the comments only after such messages had already been aired.