…as DCEO vows to decisively combat rampant graft this year
Mohloai Mpesi
THE Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) says it has reached a breaking point with corruption and is ready to decisively turn the tables on graft.
DCEO Director General, Brigadier Advocate Director-General Mantšo Sello, made the remarks while addressing DCEO prosecutors during the Anti-Corruption Prosecutors’ Training in Maseru this week.
Against the backdrop of rampant corruption and limited progress in curbing it, Adv Sello told his staff that “enough is enough”, stressing that the institution can no longer tolerate escalating corruption.
Lesotho scored 37 percent in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) out of 182 countries, on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
Adv Sello said this year’s theme was shaped by the CPI results and was intended to restore shattered public trust.
“Today, we stand at a defining moment in the history of our institution and in the fight against corruption in our nation,” he said.
“This year, I want us to declare it The Year of Being Fed up – Selemo sa ho Teneha. Looking at the CPI, where Lesotho has scored 37 percent since around 2022, I have become deeply fed up. Hence, I urge us to adopt Ho teneha (being fed up) as our theme — the year of being fed up.”
He said the theme was deliberate, intentional and urgent.
“It has been influenced by the 2025 CPI report. It is a call to conscience, a call to action, and a call to restore public trust — to say enough is enough,” he said.
Adv Sello said the DCEO must choose to be angry enough to uproot corruption.
“This is not a year of comfort. This is not a year of silence. This is not a year of excuses. This is the year we choose to be fed up.
“We are fed up because corruption continues to erode public confidence. We are fed up because corruption steals from the vulnerable. We are fed up because corruption undermines development, justice and fairness.”
He cautioned that being fed up should not mean losing direction.
“It is not about uncontrolled anger. It is about moral awakening. It is about refusing to normalise wrongdoing. It is about disrupting complacency — within ourselves and within our systems,” he said.
Adv Sello added that being fed up meant recommitting to the DCEO’s vision of becoming an agency of excellence that performs its mandate without fear, favour or prejudice.
“It means upholding our core values — integrity, professionalism, accountability and discipline. We are determined to set right what has gone wrong.”
He said decisive action was required to close loopholes that allow corruption to thrive and to confront corruption fearlessly.
“To be fed up is to reject corruption. To be fed up is to confront internal weaknesses. To be fed up is to close loopholes that enable corruption. To be fed up is to act decisively, lawfully and fearlessly. Corruption must stop now — not tomorrow, not when convenient, not when politically safe. Now. And it begins with us today,” he said.
Adv Sello said the DCEO must send a clear message to corrupt individuals across all sectors and lead by example.
“In 2026, the year of being fed up, management must lead with transparency and ethical discipline. Investigators must pursue cases without fear or favour. Support staff must ensure systems are efficient, secure and accountable.
“As a collective, we must embody the integrity we demand from others,” he said.
He reminded prosecutors that the public judged the institution by the success of its cases.
The DCEO has lost several cases due to weak prosecution, including allegations against Peka legislator, Mohopoli Monokoane, who was accused of stealing government fertiliser last year.
Adv Sello said the training was designed to strengthen prosecutors’ capacity to handle complex cases.
“As prosecutors, you occupy a critical position in the anti-corruption value chain. Investigations may uncover evidence and policies may outline standards, but it is prosecution that turns evidence into accountability.
“It is prosecution that sends the clearest message that corruption has consequences. The public judges us by the convictions we secure in court,” he said.
He said the training would enhance skills in handling complex economic crimes, financial investigations, asset recovery and emerging forms of corruption.
“This training is also meant to deepen collaboration with investigators under our prosecution-guided investigations approach, ensuring cases are built strategically from inception to conclusion,” he said.
Adv Sello stressed that being fed up did not mean acting emotionally or abandoning fairness.
“There must be zero tolerance for corruption. Corruption cases must be prosecuted to finality without fear or favour. It means preparing thoroughly and prosecuting with competence,” he said.
