SECTOR 1 was convicted of sedition for reading an anonymous letter on air, that he said he received from members of the Lesotho Defence Force, and which claimed the Prime Minister was a foreigner. Thakalekoala was first charged with high treason, but the charge was later changed. Thakalekoala pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal defamation, sedition, injuring the prime Minister’s reputation and subversion. He was convicted on the charge of sedition and found not guilty of the other charges. The journalist was given the maximum sentence - two years imprisonment or a fine of M200 (ZAR200, USD29) on account of the fact that the law’s penalties had not been revised for many years. The journalist opted to pay the fine. Panellists felt the courts are heavy-handed against the media in their application of the law. With regard to the sedition conviction of the Harvest FM journalist, one panellist said: “If the maximum penalty had been death, the judge would have sentenced the journalist to death.” Panellists felt that judges make very conservative judgments that do not advance case law, and therefore the laws passed by Parliament remain conservative. Internal Security Act 1984 Thakalekoala - the Harvest FM journalist - was also charged under this Act, but was not convicted on this charge. Nonetheless, panellists felt the law’s presence acts as a constant threat over journalists who may practise self-censorship. The Official Secrets Act 1967 This Act prohibits the unauthorized obtaining, retention, disclosure or publication of official information which may prejudicially affect the interests of the country. This law makes civil servants reluctant to release information to the media or to the public at large. The Public Service Act 2005 The Public Service Act of 2005 prohibits civil servants from divulging information. 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: 14 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER LESOTHO 2010 1.3 (2008 = 1.0 ; 2006 = 1.1)