MISA Lesotho director Tsebo Matšasa
’Marafaele Mohloboli
PRESS freedom has been under the spotlight after radio stations People’s Choice (PC) FM and Tšenolo FM were taken off air last week for allegedly broadcasting material that was defamatory to Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili and senior government officials.
The stations have since resumed broadcasting after PC FM obtained an interim High Court order. In light of these developments, Lesotho Times (LT) reporter, ‘Marafaele Mohloboli, speaks to Media Institute of Southern Africa-Lesotho (MISA-Lesotho) Director Tsebo Matšasa on the operating environment for the media among other issues.
LT: Take us through the legal framework for media operations in Lesotho.
Matšasa: Unfortunately, there is no legal framework, particularly in relation to print media. As of now, there is no organisation where an aggrieved person can file a complaint. Such an organisation would then tell the media house to retract, if it is in the wrong, as a remedy instead of going to the courts of law.
The absence of a media ombudsman and a media council makes it more difficult, because it places the print media at risk given that the courts can be very punitive sometimes, resulting in the possible closure of the publication.
LT: Who has a right to file a lawsuit against a publication, and aren’t there other means that can be resorted to when there is a problem?
Matšasa: Anyone can file a lawsuit against a media practitioner or publication. There are other avenues that can be taken to remedy a problem, but most people resort to the courts of law as they see it as a means of getting rich quick, especially in cases of defamation.
Readers have the right to seek a reply in the same publication they perceive to have defamed them. Where a person claims to have been misrepresented, the same matter can be rectified by asking for a retraction or demanding an apology from the publication without even having to go to the courts of law.
LT: How long do the courts usually take in dealing with cases filed against the media?
Matšasa: Sometimes the courts take quite a long time before a case can be heard, all depending on the roll. This normally results in self-censorship for the concerned media practitioner/publication as it leaves a dark cloud hanging on them pending finalization of the case.
LT: How conducive are the laws of Lesotho to media operations?
Matšasa: Most of the laws are very ancient and need to be repealed.
There are no specific laws that deal with the media in Lesotho, except that the constitution of Lesotho provides for the respect of freedom of speech without being particular about the media.
However, multiple laws, including the Sedition Proclamation (No. 44 of 1938) and the Internal Security (General) Act of 1984, prohibit criticism of the government, provide penalties for seditious libel, and endanger journalists’ ability to protect their sources.
The 1967 Official Secrets Act and the 2005 Public Service Act prohibit civil servants from disclosing information. This limits the transparency of government institutions and makes it difficult for journalists to conduct investigations, or even hold authorities accountable to their mandate.
With the absence of a media policy, there is dire need to have specific laws to address media issues in Lesotho.
LT: What are the challenges facing most media houses?
Matšasa: Most media houses don’t have capacity in terms of staff and finances, and most young journalists who join the fraternity don’t have mentors or supervisors. They are therefore forced to learn on the job which tends to be very dangerous.
LT: How united is the media fraternity on issues that affect them?
Matšasa: There is no cohesion among media practitioners and media houses. They mostly focus on issues that affect them individually or as media houses, and this brings about divisions in the fraternity. It also disempowers them as they fail to look at issues of national interest beyond their own interests and potential gain.
LT: How committed is the government towards fostering the growth of the private media?
Matšasa: There is a lack of commitment on the government’s part and the media is taken for a ride. It is worth noting that the media in Lesotho will always have serious problems as long as it is divided on issues of the legal framework and other issues that affect their day to day work.
Media houses may differ on strategic plans and business plans, but with some issues, they have to unite.
LT: What is the role of MISA in enhancing the media?
Matšasa: MISA wholly focuses on capacitating the media with training, diversification and promotion of the media as a whole, however we do not regulate the media. However, from time to time we are faced with cases that require intervention such as misunderstandings between media practitioners and consumers. But that does not mean that we have any legal standing in doing that.
LT: What areas need to be improved with regards to the local media?
Matšasa: Our media needs to be professionalized as it is currently polarised by politics. There is still a need for a lot of training and refresher courses for the local media. The only problem that we have is that most of the training sessions are not attended by the targeted groups. They are normally attended by very junior reporters and sometimes it defeats the objective we want to achieve.
Most media practitioners are still not very ethical and there is also a management gap in most media organizations.
We have also learnt that most of our media practitioners don’t have the requisite qualifications, yet most of them are better placed than those with qualifications in terms of how they do their job.
We encourage many of them to take the available opportunities by participating in training workshops as they can be very helpful. We also need as many journalism schools as possible to help us catch up with the new trends in technology and multimedia.
As you might have seen, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has also encouraged that our media should be professionalized as part of the reforms of Lesotho’s state institutions.
LT: How best can Lesotho’s media approach with the reforms?
Matšasa: The reforms need to be very inclusive to ensure we come up with positive responses and solutions to the problems the media face in their operations.
LT: Is it right or wrong for media houses to be partisan in politics?
Matšasa: It is neither right nor wrong. But, it is advisable that the media be neutral and confine themselves to being analytical in political and national issues. Generally in Lesotho, being partisan is regarded as a bad thing. It is certainly not good for a media house to be a propaganda wing or mouth piece of a political party.
LT: Who accredits the media?
Matšasa: Currently, the Ministry of Communications is doing the accreditation, with the endorsement of the police commissioner. There is need for an autonomous media-affiliated body to accredit the media on an annual basis because our press conferences are usually invaded by political party supporters and that needs to end.
