African Police Resource Network

Lesotho

Country Background
Lesotho gained independence from the United Kingdom in October 1966.  Lesotho has had dynamic – often hostile – relations with South Africa through the years especially in the 1980s.  For instance a South African sponsored coup with the Royal Lesotho Defence Force in 1986 led to General Lekhanya becoming head of state – resulting in military rule until 1993. Democracy was restored in the 1993 election after a victory by the Basotho Congress Party.  The Party split in 1997 and many members of parliament followed the prime minister to the Lesotho Congress for Democracy which won the last elections in 2002. Lesotho is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with King Letsie III as head of state (although with no executive power) and Prime Minister Mosisili currently in power.    

Lesotho Police
The Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) falls under the Minister of Home Affairs and Public Safety and consists of a national office under the Commissioner of Police, with regional districts headed by Assistant Commissioners.  The LMPS reportedly is undergoing restructuring and is developing a strategic plan to improve performance and tackle corruption within the service. 

Extract from:

Berg, J. (2005) Police Accountability in Southern African Commonwealth Countries. Cape Town: Institute of Criminology

Please find a list of all documents in our database relevant to Lesotho. Use the checkbox next to each line to expand more detail about the file, including the option to download.

Category	Date	Title	Detail
Country Websites	2007	The World Factbook: Lesotho
Description: Uptodate information giving an overview of the country, its geography, demographics, government, economy, communications, transportation and military. A map is included. Author: Central Intelligence Agency Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/lt.html
Legislation	2003	Lesotho Mounted Police Service (Administration) Regulations
Description: Legal Notice 202 of 2003, made under the Police Service Act 1998, repeals the Lesotho Mounted Police Regulations 1972, and came into force on 17 December 2003. The regulations provide for the appointment; promotion and ranks of police service; probation; pay; leave; compensation for death or injury; pension and retirement. Regulation 15 requires members of police service to abstain from any activity which is likely to interfere with the impartial discharge of his or her duties, or which is likely to give rise to the impression amongst members of the public that it my so interfere and that prohibits members from taking part in politics. Members of the police service require prior permission before acquiring business interests in order to determine if such interests would be incompatible with the police service. Regulation 22 requires that members of police service not wilfully to refuse or neglect to discharge any lawful debt nor contract debts which they are unable or unwilling to discharge. The Commissioner of Police may call upon any member of the Police Service to disclose his or her liabilities to satisfy himself that they are not such as to interfere with the performance of his or her duties and he could also direct the member to repay them in such manner as he deems fit. Source: Not available online
Legislation	1992	Constitution of Lesotho
Description: Section 147. Police Force (1) There shall be a Police Force for Lesotho that shall be responsible for the maintenance of law and order in Lesotho and shall have such other functions as may be prescribed by an Act of Parliament. (2) The command of the Police Force shall be vested in the Commissioner of Police and, subject to any direction of the Defence Commission, the Commissioner shall be responsible for the administration and discipline of the Police Force. (3) The power to appoint a person to hold or act in the office of Commissioner of Police and the power to remove him from that office shall vest in the Defence Commission. Author: Kingdom of Lesotho Source: http://www.idlo.int/texts/leg5542.pdf
Publications	1998	Evaluation of ODA/DFID Support to the Police in Developing Countries: A Synthesis Study.
Description: Annex E.6. contains a summary of DFIDs policing aid to Lesotho between 1990 and 1995. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display/document/legacyid/90 Author: Biddle, K., Clegg, I. and Whetton. J. Publisher: School of Social Sciences and International Development, University of Wales, Swansea. Source: www.swan.ac.uk/cds/pdffiles/Volume%20II%20-%20Annexes%20CDE1-3.pdf
Publications	2007	Allegations of human rights abuses perpetrated by police in Lesotho during 2006/2007
Description: Although the army component of the Counter Crime Unit (CCU) of the police was removed in 2001, allegations of torture and ill–treatment by this unit are still being reported. Complaints of the use of excessive force when policing demonstrations, as well the failure to investigate charges of gender violence or its insensitive investigation still surface in Lesotho. The Police Complaints Authority has yet to be established and, under the present legislation, will not be able to receive complaints directly from the Author: Amnesty International Publisher: Amnesty International Source: public.http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR030052002?open&of=ENG-BWA
Publications	2006	'The New Blues - A Look at Police Reform in Lesotho'
Description: A civil society newsletter that looks at various aspects of police reform in Lesotho. Author: Work for Justice Newsletter Publisher: Centre for Justice, Peace and Participatory Development Source: http://www.policeaccountability.co.za/Publications/Pub-Categories.asp?PubCatID=1