Lesotho Courts Dismiss Lawsuits Seeking Closure of 2 Newspapers, Defamation Cases Ongoing

Two privately owned newspapers in Lesotho-the Lesotho Tribune and Lesotho Times–faced separate lawsuits in February and March 2024, seeking to shut them down, according to the publications’ owners who spoke to CPJ.

In late March, the courts dismissed both lawsuits, but the newspapers still face defamation cases in connection with their corruption coverage.

Mergence Investment Managers filed an urgent application at the High Court in Lesotho’s capital, Maseru, on February 9, for the Lesotho…