. . . 783 mentally ill inmates awaiting psychiatrist, some since 2019
Mathatisi Sebusi
DESPITE releasing 240 inmates on an amnesty a few months ago, the Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) continues to battle overcrowding in its prisons.
According to LCS weekly reports by Chief Officer Bokang Ramotena from the service’s paralegal office, the country’s correctional facilities currently house 783 mentally ill inmates, 2169 males, 89 females, and 992 juveniles.
Minister of Law and Justice, Richard Ramoeletsi, told the Sunday Express yesterday that government efforts to curb overcrowding have been undermined by the constant influx of newly convicted offenders.
“As much as we have released 240 inmates through amnesty, overcrowding is still happening. The problem is beyond our control; it is driven by the high crime rate the country is experiencing,” Mr Ramoeletsi said.
One of the ministry’s biggest challenges, he added, concerns inmates declared mentally unfit who are confined at Mohlomi Psychiatric Hospital.
These individuals have not undergone mental assessments since 2019 to determine whether they are fit for release, as the country has been without a psychiatrist.
“These inmates deteriorate further mentally without ever being released. Unless the government decides to hire a psychiatrist, they will remain there indefinitely, growing old or even dying in confinement without proper assessment,” he said.
On infrastructure, Mr Ramoeletsi said tenders have been issued for the rehabilitation of Mohale’s Hoek Correctional Facility, the women’s prison, and the juvenile detention centre.
He also said that in the upcoming financial year, he intends to request funds for rehabilitating and constructing additional facilities in Quthing and Qacha’s Nek, which he described as being in a very poor state.
Concerns over prison conditions were also raised by Ombudsman, Advocate Tlotliso Polaki, in a report presented to Parliament in October 2023, which has yet to be acted upon.
In that report, Adv Polaki expressed serious concern over the prolonged detention of mentally ill inmates at Mohlomi Hospital’s Forensic Unit.
The unit houses inmates under the Criminal Procedure and Evidence (Amendment) Act No. 4 of 2009, which gives courts discretion to commit mentally ill offenders to psychiatric care. However, such detentions often last years without periodic review or clear procedures for discharge.
She warned that the practice amounts to inhuman treatment under Section 8 of the Constitution and exacerbates the mental decline of vulnerable inmates.
The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Maneo Ntene, said the ministry has now hired a psychiatrist who has begun assessing inmates in the Forensic Unit.
In June this year, Human rights lawyer Adv Fusi Sehapi, acting for the Christian Advocates and Ambassadors Association, wrote to Parliament demanding the repeal of Sections 166 and 172 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (CP&E) No. 9 of 1981. These provisions empower courts to commit mentally ill persons to prison rather than providing for alternatives such as conditional release or home-based treatment.
Adv Sehapi argues that Lesotho’s shortage of psychiatrists, philologists, and other mental health professionals means that many inmates remain incarcerated long after they have recovered. He described the current system as unconstitutional, inhumane, and a violation of fundamental rights.
Citing the Ombudsman’s 2023 inspection report, which described conditions at Mohlomi as “inhuman, degrading and a violation of international health standards”, Adv Sehapi accused Parliament of “dereliction of duty” for failing to implement the report’s binding recommendations.