RSF - Reporters sans frontières
RSF - Reporters sans frontières
09/09/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Lesotho: following abduction of Kananelo Boloetse, RSF calls for independent investigation
Kananelo Boloetse, news editor of the media group Newsday, was abducted and assaulted at his home by unidentified individuals on 5 September in Maseru, the capital. He was released several hours later after being interrogated about his work as a journalist. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the journalist's abduction and the violence against him, and calls on the authorities to conduct a serious, independent investigation to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
Newsday news editor Kananelo Boloetse was preparing to spend the evening at his home in Maseru on 5 September when three individuals broke in and forcibly took him away in their vehicle, he told RSF.
According to his account, he was assaulted inside the vehicle before being interrogated at around 9:45 p.m. in an unidentified building. The questions focused on his work as a journalist and his activities with a local civil society organisation he co-founded called Section 2. His abductors told him they would return and kill him if news of his abduction became public. Kananelo Boloetse was then abandoned by his abductors, left with a bruised, swollen face and multiple injuries to the rest of his body.
According to RSF's information, the journalist, who remains concerned for his safety, filed a complaint the following morning at a police station in Maseru. When contacted by RSF, Newsday co-founder Lerato Matheka said that a complaint had been forwarded to police headquarters.
The Lesotho Mounted Police Service have "established a special investigative team which has resumed its investigations on the alleged kidnapping and assault of Mr Boloetse," its spokesperson, Thabo Mohai, told RSF.
"The abduction and violence inflicted on Newsday news editor Kananelo Boloetse constitute an extremely serious attack on press freedom in Lesotho. The fact that he was interrogated about his journalistic work is particularly concerning. RSF condemns this abduction and the serious violence he suffered, and calls on the authorities to pursue a serious, independent and transparent investigation through to its conclusion, identify those responsible and bring them to justice.
Sadibou Marong
Director, RSF Sub-Saharan Africa
Kananelo Boloetse's newsroom said in a statement that neighbours had seen a vehicle driving around the area and stopping several times outside the journalist's residence during the afternoon before the abduction. They reportedly provided investigators with the vehicle's registration number.
Minister of Information and Communication Nthati Moorosi visited the Newsday offices on 7 September to express her support for the media group.
Newsday is a general-interest media group founded in 2017, comprising a news website and a weekly newspaper, which is also published online. As editor-in-chief, Kananelo Boloetse oversees journalists covering governance, public accountability and development issues.
Published on 09.09.2026
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