SECTOR 1 Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 2.7 (2008 = 1.1 ; 2006 = 1.2) 1.3 There are no laws restricting freedom of expression such as excessive official secrets or libel acts, or laws that unreasonably interfere with the responsibilities of the media. There are a number of outdated laws that remain on the statute books and are often hauled out and used to restrict free expression and media freedom as the State sees fit1. In terms of the Internal Security Act, any meeting of more than five people requires permission from the police or local chief. “We should have informed the chief, told him that there are foreigners among us, and he would have told us what to discuss and what not to discuss,” one panellist pointed out. The new Public Meetings and Processions Act, which is about to be signed into law, has similar provisions - the police must be notified of a meeting or public gathering two weeks in advance, and can only go ahead if the police approve a license. Recently formulated legislation restricts access to public information and criminalises disclosure of this information by civil servants to the media or the general public. Panellists highlighted the following laws as cases in point: Sedition Proclamation of 1938 In 2008, Thabo Thakalekoala, a journalist working for private radio station Harvest FM, 1N ine laws that “unduly restrict media freedom” in Lesotho are listed in Undue Restriction - Laws Impacting on Media Freedom in the SADC, published by MISA, UNESCO and the EU in 2004. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER LESOTHO 2010 13