Lesotho - September 2024

Between August and September, soldiers from the Lesotho Defence Forces (LDF) allegedly killed at least two civilians and tortured at least five others, as part of an ongoing operation to confiscate firearms from criminal gangs. ‘Operation Hard Fist’ was launched earlier in 2024 in response to an increase in gun-related violence in Lesotho, but it has been marred by reports of human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, torture and killings. The incidents follow a speech made by Prime Minister Sam Matekane in early August, in which he urged the deputy army commander to ‘do everything in your power to ensure that peace returns to Lesotho’ – although he subsequently clarified that it was not a call for the army to torture and kill civilians. Opposition parties and civil society organisations have condemned the deployment of the LDF, saying it threatened civil liberties.   

Sources: Lesotho Times (1), Amnesty International, News 24, Lesotho Times (2)