Our Articles

A worker employed as a guard on a construction site is demanding compensation for loss of livelihood after he was injured at work. The South African company that was employing him as a guard on the Lesotho-Botswana Water Transfer Project in Tsinyane, Malealea, has refused to acknowledge responsibility saying that he did not get injured at work. But, they do not seem to have the full details, not even the correct date of the injury.

Seabata Monare (62) was hired by Geomechanics, which prides itself on being a leader in geotechnical investigations in Southern Africa, as a guard on the site being prepared for the Makhaleng Dam. 

In order to conduct feasibility studies prior to the construction of the Makhaleng Dam, which is intended to export water to South Africa, Botswana, and Lesotho, the Orange-Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM) hired Geomechanics to perform packer tests, piezometer installation, and rotary core drilling in Tsinyane.

Monare lives in the area earmarked for a dam. He told MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism that he was left disabled and unable to fend for himself after the injury he sustained while working at the Geomechanics site, along the Makhaleng river’s gravel surface.

Monare’s medical records from July 22 2023 show that Malealea Clinic referred him to Mafeteng District Hospital where an x-ray was done, which diagnosed a fracture on his right hand and wrist.

A cast was applied for six weeks but when he went for his check-up, the doctor ordered that the cast remain because his fracture had not healed enough.  Another x-ray was requested and it detected yet again poor healing and the cast had to be re-applied for another six weeks.

The cast eventually came off on its own, but Monare’s hand was never the same again. The aftermath of the accident has left Monare unable to continue his farming, his primary source of livelihood, plunging him and his family into food insufficiency.

Monare’s account is supported by three people, one also a guard who witnessed the incident and was with him at the time and another colleague who worked the night shift. A local councillor has also stated that she discovered Monare at the scene during routine inspections and inquired about his injuries.

Responding to MNN questions, Laura-Lee Rijsmus who is the Accounts and Marketing Director for Geogroup, which is Geomechanics’ parent company, insists that Monare arrived at work already injured. She distanced the company from any wrongdoing.

“There is a possibility of bias from an eyewitness who knows Monare”, said Rijsmus who does leave room for the possibility that Geomechanics could be accountable for Monare’s injury saying that the eyewitness accounts shouldn’t be dismissed entirely.

For them to conclude this matter, she says they would need “…a written statement from the witness detailing what they saw and see how the witness’s story aligns with Monare’s and any other available information.”

MNN declined to facilitate this process as it understands it is the responsibility of the company to acquire such statements from its former employees.

Speaking to MNN, Teboho Mokala, the eyewitness who was on the same shift with Monare making them the only two people who were on the site when the injury occurred, said he was not entirely shocked that Geomechanics was now claiming innocence.

“The manner in which the whole situation was handled left a lot to be desired,” he said.

Mokala and Monare’s both said during separate interviews that: “It was clear that they were trying to avoid taking responsibility.”

Monare, Mokala and another colleague Keresemese Mokala who worked the night shift were appalled at the insinuation that Monare did not get injured onsite. Mokala [Teboho] told MNN that he arrived for work with Monare that fateful day and he was still fine.

Nthabiseng Tlaleane, a local government councillor in Malealea at the time said she encountered Monare’s injury when she went to inspect work onsite. She says she noticed Monare’s casted hand and asked him what happened.

Tlaleane explained that Monare told her he fell on the gravel onsite [pointing to it] and hit his hand against a rock. She says the account surrounding his injury is the same report they received from the Human Rights Defenders committee, a committee formed by villagers on advice of Seinoli Legal Centre, a human rights organisation concerned with protecting rights of people in large development areas.

While the company denies responsibility over Monare’s injury, it kept him, even changed shifts and allocated him lighter duties as he was using one hand. Asked why they didn’t replace him if he was injured elsewhere, Rijsmus said they considered it unjustified to cancel his contract and render him unemployed.

As MNN has established, Monare was injured on July 22, 2023, but Rijsmus told MNN that Monare arrived at work already injured five days later.

“Mr. Monare reported for work on July 27, 2023, with an injury from before the shift. Our Site Manager had kept him aside, he did not work that day,” she said.

Presented with the information from Monare’s medical records proving that he was injured on July 22, the day he reported to the Malealea Clinic, Rijsmus said they had made an error with the dates.

Copies of Geomechanics’ workman’s compensation that MNN managed to get do not state the exact criteria. They only said associated costs are covered if an injury takes places on duty and is documented.

Because only the guards were onsite when he got injured, Monare says he had to wait for the company officers to arrive but instead of getting immediate medical attention, he waited seven hours as offloading materials from a truck was more important for his supervisors.

He says he sat on the sidelines and waited for them to knock-off.

Geomechanics dismissed the wait and neglect, stating “although the injury happened off duty, our Site Manager, Mr Luthuli got the drilling teams going in the morning and then took Mr Monare to a clinic as a kind gesture to assist him.”

However, Monare’s colleague Mokala [Teboho] corroborated Monare’s ordeal, that their superiors waited to knock-off that Saturday before taking him to the clinic. But even then, Mokala says the supervisors left Monare at the Malealea Lodge gate where they stayed, leaving him to walk to the clinic in his bruised, bandaged hand.

MNN heard from Mokala [Keresemese] how an accident was bound to happen, describing the site as sloppy and slippery due to the gravel-like particles that formed when the excavator was paving way into the Makhaleng River where the dam would possibly be built.

Efforts by advocacy groups, such as the Malealea Human Rights Defenders, to seek help for Monare have been met with challenges as the contractor packed up and left for South Africa as they were trying to address his situation.

ORASECOM’s communication and knowledge management specialist Elita Banda told MNN that they were not aware of Monare’s injury but their office has since launched investigations into the matter.

By Matiisetso Mosala  LESCIJ LESCIJ

A young girl, who became pregnant while still a minor, has been charged with getting an abortion, which is illegal in Lesotho. But, the family is questioning why the man who made her pregnant has not been charged as an accomplice to this crime and for having sex with a minor, which is also illegal.

*Mpho Sempe [pseudonym] of Ha-Ramonakalali in the Malingoaneng ward of Mokhotlong was charged with illegal termination of pregnancy after her father took her to the Tlokoeng Police Station in Mapholaneng to report that a contractor, Bahlakoana Kenela, had sexually offended her. Kenela was an employee of Rumdel AC Joint Venture, which includes South African firm Rumdel Construction and Lesotho-based A&C Holdings which is busy constructing a 32.86km road connecting the Semenanyane River to the Polihali Dam site.

Lesotho criminalises abortion under Section 45 of the Penal Code Act of 2012, which provides that “A person who does any act bringing about the premature termination of pregnancy in a female person to procure a miscarriage, commits the offence of abortion.”

It also criminalises sex with a minor. Penal Code of 2012 states that anyone under the age of 18 is regarded as a child and therefore unable to consent.

Mpho, who was 15 years old when she had the abortion, told MNN how she missed her period in August 2023. She informed Kenela, her married lover, who then gave her pills to abort the pregnancy because he did not “want the news to reach her family”. She says that she consented without realising that she was committing a crime. 

When Mpho’s family took her to the police station on August 22, 2023 to report the matter, her father, *Lehlohonolo Sempe [pseudonym] says the police took his daughter to the hospital, and he was told: “We will take it from here and see how we deal with it,”  a statement that should have set off alarm bells for the Sempe family considering they were not even given a case number.

When they left the police station, Mpho’s family say that they did not know that their daughter had been criminally charged. Police at the Tlokoeng police station, they argue, did not inform them that they charged Mpho with illegal abortion or give them a case number to confirm this. Sempe told MNN that no one told them that Mpho was charged. Station manager, Mphelehetse Khatleli swore on his officers’ competence, saying they must have informed the family.

Mpho’s family want to know why Kenela was not charged alongside their daughter for helping her with the abortion. Kenela told MNN that it was Mpho’s choice to terminate the pregnancy, he did not force her. 

He also does not deny having sex with Mpho but argues that he was unaware she was a minor.

Kenela also told MNN that he was called in for questioning by the police who casually asked him if he and Mpho were dating, and let him go upon his confirmation that they were.  While Mpho’s family is demanding answers as to why Kenela was not charged with having sex with a minor, police officers at Tlokoeng police station who refused to identify themselves because they didn’t have the authority to comment, admitted to MNN that Kenela should have been charged but could not explain why that had not happened eight months later.

But, station manager Khatleli’s response to this to MNN was different.  Khatleli said that police would not take any action until they received Mpho’s birth certificate proving her minor status. When MNN asked Khatleli why the police had not taken the initiative to gather this evidence since August 2023, he said it was because Mpho’s parents were not available when the officers went to her home.

The official police comment also stated to MNN that they had charged Mpho but not Kenela at the time because they were only made aware of Mpho’s case when she had already terminated her pregnancy.  They did not consider that she had an accomplice when charging the young woman.

Mpho’s family is surprised by the claim that police are waiting for Mpho’s documents proving her age. The family say that, they have been waiting for a police update but have not heard anything yet. Local residents in the area told MNN that they have not seen any law enforcement officers carrying out this investigation. MNN has uncovered another layer of mystery surrounding this case. The Tlokoeng police initially told MNN that there was no record of Mpho’s reported case, that it did not appear in the sexual offences and gender-based-violence cases between 2018 and 2023 statistics that MNN had requested. 

Did the police only choose to open an abortion case, and not a sexual offence case; hence, it was untraceable? Khatleli explains that sexual offence cases are sensitive by nature, and because people are always trying to make them disappear, dockets are locked away in a cabinet and the officer in charge was unavailable when compiling the data.

Sempe revealed that he was not surprised that the police claimed there was no trace of their case considering the treatment that they received when they went to report the case. He told MNN that when they arrived at the police station, an unidentified police officer remarked “we know that with such situations, we are expected to go and arrest someone” a statement that he says was a clear sign that no thorough investigations would be conducted. The station manager subtly brushed this off saying, “you know how people are”.

Sempe states: “We are told to report a crime to the police, but when we do, there is no use because nothing ever comes of it, no updates are made months later”.

Asked if he is aware he crossed legal boundaries and as a result, ought to face the might of the law, Kenela said “Yes, I do realise”. Nonetheless, while Mpho has a criminal case hanging over her head, Kenela is still a free man. While the police have not charged Kenela, they admit that considering Mpho’s age, they are convinced she was aided in terminating her pregnancy as “she could not have executed it on her own”.

Khatleli revealed that the abortion case has gone cold due to insufficient evidence, and “it is not easy to prosecute a minor, but we are still waiting on her family to provide us with documents proving she is underage so that we can investigate the matter and find those who were involved”.

Sempe says seeing his daughter’s perpetrator almost daily is hard and triggering for him because he was advised by the same police who are not investigating the case thoroughly not to have any interaction with him, as it was now in police custody.

Since August when he reported the matter to the police, Sempe told MNN that he has not followed up on the progress of the case because the reception at police stations is never welcoming.

By The Reporter.

Seinoli Legal Centre in collaboration with the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network this week conducted a three-day workshop for grass-roots human rights defenders (HRDs) in Mokhotlong.

Program Lawyer at Seinoli Legal Centre, Moeketsi Lepeli told theReporter on Wednesday this week that the purpose of the training was to equip human rights defenders with the knowledge and skills to be powerful advocates for their rights and for those communities they defend.

The workshop brought together HRDs from several villages including Masakong, Maluba-lube, Mapholaneng, Tlooa-Re-Buoe, and Ha-Ramonakalali. Police, community councilors and local chiefs also attended.

“The workshop sought to capacitate HRDs on human rights and laws protecting those rights, as well as how to engage with project implementers on community issues. We believe in empowering communities to fight for their rights,” he said.

According to Lepeli, the participants were working on a wide range of human rights issues and disputes affecting communities such as land compensation and displacement or relocation of households affected by Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP).

He indicated that they had realised that disputes between projects implementers – in this case the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) which is overseeing the water project – and the communities affected by the water project led to harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders in Lesotho.

“Such acts prompted us as rights groups to capacitate the HRDs so that they know legal routes to take when their rights are being intimidated. They need to understand legal ways of fighting or protecting their rights.  We believe that together, we can bring about positive change,” Lepeli said.

The rights groups had also realised that human rights defenders encounter a lot of challenges in defending the environment and the rights of local communities owing to the lack of laws that provide protection for defenders.

“Many of them are unaware of the laws designed to protect them from such injustices. Limited access to legal assistance further marginalises these communities. That’s why our goal is to enhance oversight and strengthen the role of HRDs in monitoring and responding to human rights violations,” Lepeli explained.

Human rights defender, Lebohang Lengoasa said the workshop had provided them with an opportunity to share their experiences with the police.

This was moreso because when they peacefully fight for their rights, especially through placards delivering messages, security agencies are the first group to harass them.

In a recent joint statement dated 31 May 2023, the two human rights groups strongly condemned any actions that hinder the work of HRDs and undermine their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

“These rights are enshrined in section 14 of the Constitution of Lesotho as well as under international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which Lesotho is a party,” the organisations noted.

They also expressed concern over the recent acts of harassment and intimidation against HRDs in Lesotho.

“We strongly condemn any actions that hinder the work of HRDs and undermine their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. These rights are enshrined in section 14 of the Constitution of Lesotho as well as under international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which Lesotho is a party,” the statement added.

By Reitumetse Nkoti Mabula on behalf of Seinoli Legal Centre, Survivors of Lesotho Dams, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, and Southern Africa Litigation Centre

The next phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, marked by your visit on 23 May 2023, will lead to the renewed physical and economic displacement of thousands. The result is imminent food insecurity, impoverishment, and the breakdown of social networks and culture.

Dear President Cyril Ramaphosa,

Your visit to Polihali, Mokhotlong, to officially launch full-scale construction work of Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP II) on 23 May 2023, is highly welcomed.

Mr President, when this project was concluded under the 1986 LHWP Treaty, it was celebrated for the immense economic returns that would accrue to both Lesotho and South Africa, including sustainable development for local affected communities.

South Africa and Lesotho made an undertaking in the LHWP Treaty, “to take all reasonable measures to ensure that the implementation, operation and maintenance of the Project are compatible with the protection of the existing quality of the environment and, in particular, shall pay due regard to the maintenance of the welfare of persons and communities immediately affected by the project”.

The reality for communities, however, is in stark contrast to this undertaking.

As you know, Phase I of this project, which involved construction of the Katse Dam (under Phase IA) and Mohale Dam (under Phase IB) was inaugurated in 2004. More than 20,000 people were directly affected by this first phase of LHWP.

Thousands remain without compensation for the adverse impacts of the project on their lives and no efforts have been made to actively ensure that communities get direct economic benefits. People living in the vicinity of the Katse and Mohale dams endure consistent violation of their right to access clean water, since access to natural springs and other sources have been affected by the dams.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Report raises alarm over mines’ pollution of rivers critical to Lesotho Highlands Water Project

Mr President, residents are not allowed to access water from the dams to water their animals and irrigate their crops. Women within LHWP Phase II-affected communities are already marginalised as a result of cultural stereotypes which prevent them from owning land and benefiting from compensation for land rights which are affected by the LHWP. Lack of access to water further marginalises them and exacerbates their inability to break free from poverty.

Land and other natural resources which are the basis of the communities’ livelihoods have been expropriated by the project without payment and compensation.

While there is a responsibility by the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority to uphold the agreement, there is a significant perception among affected communities that impacts negatively on the image of South Africa. This fundamentally detracts from South Africa’s Africa Agenda and desire to be a partner to Africans.

Moreover, affected communities are likely to seek further economic opportunities in South Africa.

Apartheid origin

Mr President, you may recall that the LHWP Treaty was signed between the apartheid government in South Africa and a military regime in Lesotho. It was concluded during a period when both governments had no regard for human rights and the dictates of democracy and good governance.

In fact, no consultations were undertaken at all with the people of Lesotho in general and the affected communities in particular. Any dissent expressed against this project was thwarted with threats and violence. It is therefore not surprising, Mr President, that the treaty has failed to promote, respect and protect the human rights of people immediately affected by the project.

Thousands will be economically displaced as a result of acquisition and inundation of their agricultural land, grazing land, including natural resources.

When South Africa decided to implement Phase II following prolonged negotiations and signed the agreement to that effect in 2011, it was in the context of these residual issues which remain outstanding to date. This occasion of your visit to the Polihali Dam project site presents an opportunity to ensure that this phase does not repeat those mistakes, and guarantee that the communities who have given way for this dam are placed at the centre of this project.

Mr President, the further implementation of advanced infrastructure works to pave the way for construction of LHWP II, known as the Polihali Dam, has already had an adverse impact on the livelihoods of communities affected by this component of the project.

The Katse Dam is part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and supplies water to Gauteng. (Photo: Deaan Vivier / Beeld / Gallo Images)

Land and other natural resources which are the basis of the communities’ livelihoods have been expropriated by the project without payment and compensation.

The transition into the next component of LHWP II, marked by the occasion of your visit on 23 May 2023, will lead to renewed physical and economic displacement of families. The LHWP Phase II feasibility studies have estimated that about 16 villages will need to be relocated or resettled due to close proximity to the dam and/or significantly impeded access in the event of floods.

And again, thousands will be economically displaced as a result of acquisition and inundation of their agricultural land, grazing land, including natural resources. The result is imminent food insecurity, impoverishment and the breakdown of social networks and culture.

Climate change and the growing South African population and economy dictate that South Africa will increasingly rely on water from Lesotho. The role and importance of the LHWP and the anticipated phases beyond the Polihali Dam necessitate that great care be taken to secure ownership and buy-in of communities who have hitherto remained dissatisfied with this project.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Can anyone hear the socioeconomic and environmental alarm bells on Lesotho Highlands Water Project?

The challenge, Mr President, for this occasion and for the government of South Africa is to address South Africa’s interests in keeping this bilateral project more significant to both countries without losing sight of the longer-term sustainable development of local communities.

We therefore call upon you to:

1. Review, as a matter of urgency, the LHWP Treaty to align it with the international human rights standards for better protection and promotion of the rights of affected communities;
2. Devote your time in Lesotho to meet civil society organisations and the communities affected to hear their concerns regarding implementation of the LHWP Phase II first-hand;
3. Engage the government of the Kingdom of Lesotho and the LHWP’s implementation authorities on the challenges facing communities affected by Phase I and Phase II of the LHWP, address human rights violations of communities, and ensure their right to development and restore their livelihoods;
4. Assist the Kingdom of Lesotho and Lesotho Highlands Development Authority to overhaul the entire LHWP Legal and Compensation Framework, to ensure fair and adequate compensation for communities;
5. Support the Kingdom of Lesotho and Lesotho Highlands Development Authority to formulate, as a matter of urgency, the Livelihoods Restoration Policy, which is in line with best international standards, to ensure that affected communities’ livelihoods are improved; and
6. Undertake, as a matter of urgency, a forensic audit of all compensation funds intended for the affected people. DM

Reitumetse Nkoti Mabula is Executive Director of the Seinoli Legal Centre in Maseru, Lesotho.

Seinoli Legal Centre (SLC) with the Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA) submitted a Human Rights situation report on the communities being affected by large Infrastructure projects in Lesotho at the 75th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights held in Banjul, The Gambia. The report focused on the Human Rights violations emanating under LHWP Phase II in Polihali and the L-BWT scheme in Makhaleng.

The article can be accessed in this week’s Public Eye newspaper Vol. 26. No 19 on page 16 titled “Opinion of Lesotho’s dams, environmental impact and compensation.

By Leonie March, Freelance Journalist at AfrikaRiff, Weltreporter and RiffReporter in collaboration with Seinoli Legal Centre.

The Katse reservoir nestles picturesquely against the mountain slopes and meanders through several valleys, and the smooth water surface reflects the clouds in the Lesotho highlands. Surrounded by neighboring South Africa, the small kingdom in the mountains is considered the water tower of the entire region. The dam has supplied the South African economic center around Johannesburg with drinking water since 1998.

It is the heart of the so-called Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which consists of dams, tunnel systems, pumping stations, and hydroelectric power plants. It is one of the “most successful transboundary water management systems in the world”, according to the responsible authority, the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA).

“The water belongs to South Africa and no longer to us”

But when Mothusi Seqhee looks at the huge glittering expanse of water, he sees something different: “The water belongs to South Africa and no longer to us,” he says. “We can’t use it how we want. It’s a problem.” Seqhee works for the Seinoli Legal Center – an NGO founded in 2010 to represent the interests of displaced or dispossessed villagers because of this major project.