…after call from DC youth
THE Ministry of Defence and National Security has revised the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) recruitment age limit, increasing it from 18–24 to 18–28 years.
This follows concerns raised by the opposition Democratic Congress Youth League (DCYL) regarding the exclusion of certain age groups during the current recruitment drive.
The DC held a press conference yesterday morning, calling on the government to review the previous age ceiling of 24, arguing it unfairly excluded a segment of youth who were not given a chance to apply in earlier recruitment rounds.
Last month, the Ministry of Defence, in conjunction with the LDF, issued a circular inviting Basotho aged 18 to 24 to apply for 500 positions in the army. Prospective candidates are expected to complete application forms this Saturday across all 10 districts.
However, the DCYL criticised the criteria, arguing that the last LDF recruitment was in 2019, targeting individuals born between 1 September 1995 and 1 September 1999.
“We urge the government to note that youth aged 25 and 26, who were born between 2 September 1999 and 30 September 2000, were never accommodated in LDF recruitments,” read the DCYL statement.
“Unemployment can push young people into crime. As the DCYL, we plead with the government to address youth unemployment by considering all eligible young Basotho.”
Although neither the government nor the LDF issued a direct response to the DCYL, an updated circular was later posted on the LDF’s official Facebook page, extending the eligible age range to 28.
“The LDF, under the Ministry of Defence, hereby invites young men and women interested in joining the army to apply for the advertised vacancies. Applicants must have completed their LGCSE with at least four passes.
“They must be Basotho with valid identification, aged between 18 and 28 as of 1 September 2025 (born between 30 October 1997 and 1 September 2007), physically and mentally fit, with no criminal record or pending court cases, and must not subscribe to beliefs that would hinder them from fulfilling military duties,” the circular stated.
