…as she is accused of overstepping powers in 500-officer recruitment
Moorosi Tsiane
HOME Affairs and Police Minister, Voeswa Tsheka, is at the centre of a brewing power struggle over the recruitment of 500 new police officers, with allegations that she is attempting to interfere in a process legally entrusted to the Chief of Police, Advocate Borotho Matsoso.
Ms Tsheka, who has been in office for only five months, is accused of seeking to wrestle control of the recruitment process from the Chief of Police by pushing for an outside consultant to be brought in to oversee aspects of the exercise.
A source close to the matter claims the minister, in her capacity as the political head of the police, has powers to prescribe the number of officers to be recruited, but not to take over the day-to-day administration of recruitment.
The allegations have raised questions about the separation of political oversight from the operational administration of the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS), particularly as the force moves to fill the 500 vacancies.
The controversy follows a 10 September 2026 memorandum from Acting Director of Police Directorate, Francesca Makepe, to Adv Matsoso, requesting the LMPS “to collaborate in a public consultation and research exercise” on police recruitment.
The memorandum, seen by the Lesotho Times, says the exercise was directed by Ms Tsheka and was intended to gather public and stakeholder views on how recruitment could be made “fair, transparent, merit-based, credible and accessible”.
But the initiative has reportedly caused unease within the police service, with allegations that the consultation is being used to create a parallel mechanism through which the minister could influence who gets recruited.
The allegations come as the LMPS is already receiving applications from Basotho youth aged between 18 and 30 seeking to fill the 500 vacancies. The recruitment process began on 29 September 2026 after Prime Minister Sam Matekane announced that his government had given Adv Matsoso the greenlight to hire 500 police officers to capacitate the LMPS to fight the ever-escalating crime level. Mr Matekane spoke during his meeting with the members of the Mabote policing community at the Mabote Police Station grounds on 22 August 2026.
According to the source, the recruitment process falls squarely within the administrative responsibilities of the LMPS and should therefore be conducted under the authority of the Chief of Police.
“What she is trying to do is not provided anywhere by the law because the Police Act is very clear that Commissioner is the one with powers to recruit police officers while the minister can only appoint the Deputy Commissioners, after consultation with the Commissioner,” the source said.
The source further alleged that Ms Tsheka’s involvement had gone beyond legitimate ministerial oversight.
“The big question is why the minister would want to take over the recruitment of police because that is an administrative issue that has to be overseen by the Commissioner unless if she thinks the Commissioner is incompetent then she will have to fire him. What she wants to do is to overstep her boundaries as the Police Authority,” the source said.
The source claimed that the alleged intervention had taken a more serious turn, with a list of about 50 people purportedly being prepared by politicians for consideration in the recruitment process.
“We have heard there is already a list of about 50 people whom they want to impose in the recruitment process. So she wants to hijack the process of hiring and she is using the Directorate so that they can get a consulting company that is going to help them in achieving their mission,” the source alleged.
The 10 September memorandum confirms that the Police Directorate was acting on Ms Tsheka’s instruction to initiate the consultation exercise.
“The purpose of this memorandum is to request the collaboration and support from the Chief of Police in an upcoming public consultation and research exercise concerning the recruitment of police officers. The exercise has been directed by the Honourable Minister responsible for Police, with the objective of engaging the public and relevant stakeholders to obtain views and recommendations on how police recruitment processes can be strengthened to ensure that they are fair, transparent, merit-based, credible and accessible to all eligible Basotho,” the memorandum reads in part.
It says the exercise is intended to establish an evidence-based understanding of public perceptions, concerns and recommendations surrounding police recruitment.
“It will also seek to identify potential measures that could strengthen transparency, accountability and public confidence in future recruitment processes. Given that the LMPS is the institution responsible for the recruitment and deployment of police officers, its active participation and technical input will be essential to the success of this exercise.”
The Directorate consequently requested the cooperation of the Office of the Chief of Police in several areas, including the appointment of a focal person or team within the LMPS to liaise with the Directorate throughout the exercise.
It also asked the police to consider recommendations arising from the consultation, particularly those concerning fairness, transparency, accountability and public confidence in recruitment.
“The Police Directorate proposes an initial coordination meeting between representatives of the Directorate and LMPS in order to agree on the information and institutional support required,” the memorandum states.
“The Police Directorate would appreciate the cooperation of the Office of the Chief of Police in facilitating this important Ministerial assignment. (this memo is) Submitted for your consideration and support.”
The source said the proposed consultation was unusual because the LMPS has traditionally handled its recruitment through its own established administrative structures.
According to the source, the involvement of an outside consultant would raise further questions about who ultimately controls the recruitment process and who would be accountable for the final selection of recruits.
The source said Ms Makepe was expected to meet Adv Matsoso over the matter, although it was not immediately clear whether the meeting had taken place.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of a major recruitment drive by the LMPS, which has opened applications for 500 new officers.
The recruitment process has attracted considerable public interest, particularly because police recruitment involves the selection of young Basotho into an institution entrusted with maintaining law and order. However, politicians in successive governments have been accused of imposing members of their parties into the force, some of who do not even meet the recruitment requirements.
Ms Tsheka was appointed Minister of Home Affairs and Police on 30 April 2026 by Prime Minister Sam Matekane.
Her appointment followed the redeployment of former Home Affairs and Police Minister Lebona Lephema to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Business Development.
Mr Lephema declined the transfer and was subsequently dismissed from Cabinet, while Nkhethoa Seetsa was appointed to head the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship.
The latest dispute has now placed Ms Tsheka’s relationship with the police leadership under scrutiny, with the central question being whether the minister’s involvement amounts to legitimate policy oversight or interference in the operational administration of the LMPS.
Contacted for comment, LMPS spokesperson, Superintendent Thabo Mohai, declined to comment on the allegations and referred this reporter to Ms Tsheka.
“These questions can be directed to the minister or her spokesperson. There might be provisions of the law that I am not aware of, so the right person who can comment is the minister herself or her spokesperson,” Supt Mohai said.
Efforts to obtain comment from Ms Tsheka and Ms Makepe were unsuccessful as their mobile phones went unanswered.
Ministry of Home Affairs and Police spokesperson, Marelebohile Mothibeli, also declined to comment, saying the matter fell outside her responsibilities.
“Go ask the police spokesperson, I am not hired to answer to police issues, I can only assist you with passports, identifications and birth certificate related issues,” Ms Mothibeli said.
