LESOTHO is confronting a dangerous paradox: as crime becomes more brazen, violent and organised, the very institution mandated to protect citizens is struggling to perform even its most basic functions.
The recent revelations by the Inspector of Police, Advocate Motlatsi Mapola, that the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) is failing to meet all four of its core policing objectives should alarm every Mosotho.
At the heart of the problem is capacity. Poor training, entrenched corruption, weak leadership systems and chronic under-resourcing have hollowed out the LMPS from within. This is not a matter of isolated incompetence but of a system allowed to decay over many years. When murder dockets lie untouched for more than a decade, when firearms exhibits disappear from custody, and when police officers themselves are implicated in supplying weapons to criminals, the rule of law is not merely strained, it is totally expunged.
The absence of a functional forensic laboratory is perhaps the most glaring symbol of this collapse. Serious crimes cannot be investigated effectively without timely forensic evidence. The fact that Lesotho continues to rely on laboratories in South Africa is a costly and unreliable arrangement that has produced massive backlogs. Cases dating back to 2014 remain unresolved because samples were never analysed. Justice delayed is justice denied — not only to victims and their families, but also to accused persons left indefinitely in legal limbo.
What makes this failure especially troubling is that it is neither new nor unavoidable. The need for a local forensic laboratory has been repeatedly raised, and technical expertise exists within the country. Its continued absence reflects a failure of political prioritisation rather than any insurmountable technical barrier. In a context where the government routinely invokes security and stability, neglecting such basic investigative infrastructure is indefensible.
Equally disturbing is the state of training and professional standards within the police service. According to Adv Mapola, many officers assigned to investigations are simply not adequately trained. Poorly drafted dockets, unconstitutional evidence-gathering and procedural blunders have become so commonplace that High Court judges now regularly reprimand police officers in open court. This is not merely embarrassing; it fatally undermines prosecutions and emboldens criminals who know that the likelihood of conviction is slim.
The erosion of professionalism is closely intertwined with corruption. When officers deliberately sabotage cases or collude with criminals, policing ceases to be a public service and becomes a private enterprise. Reports of state firearms being stolen and sold by members of the security forces represent a catastrophic breach of public trust. It is impossible to combat armed crime when those entrusted with weapons are supplying the very networks they are meant to dismantle.
Oversight mechanisms, which should serve as a corrective, are themselves being systematically weakened. The Office of the Inspector of Police, established to ensure accountability within the LMPS, is critically understaffed and under-resourced. That an institution responsible for nationwide inspections operates with only four officers and no dedicated vehicle is nothing short of scandalous. Oversight without capacity is oversight in name only.
The pending reforms under the Tenth Constitutional Amendment — including the establishment of an Independent Security Sector Oversight, Inspectorate and Complaints Authority — cannot come soon enough. Yet laws and structures alone will achieve little unless matched by genuine political will to get things done. Autonomy must be real, not symbolic, and oversight bodies must be adequately funded and protected from political interference.
Operational mismanagement further weakens crime prevention. The routine deployment of police officers to direct traffic — a responsibility that Adv Mapolsa said properly belongs to Traffic Commissioners — is a gross misuse of scarce human resources. While officers wave cars through intersections, stock theft syndicates operate with impunity and violent crimes go unsolved. This is not merely inefficient; it is maladministration, as Adv Mapola rightly observes.
Ultimately, the crisis within the LMPS reflects a broader failure of governance. Policing cannot succeed in isolation from the state that sustains it. Recruitment, training, equipment, forensic capacity and oversight all require sustained investment and strategic leadership. Short-term fixes and reactive rhetoric will not reverse years of neglect.
For ordinary citizens, the consequences are dire. Fear has become normalised. Communities lose faith in reporting crime. Vigilantism becomes tempting where formal justice fails. This is the slippery slope away from constitutional order and towards lawlessness.
If the government is serious about restoring safety, it must begin by restoring the integrity and capacity of the police service. That means confronting corruption without fear or favour, investing in skills and infrastructure, and empowering independent oversight.