Journalist and human rights defender Kananelo Boloetse was seized at his Maseru home, beaten and questioned over his reporting and advocacy. Amnesty International, MISA Lesotho and the International Federation of Journalists are urging Lesotho’s authorities to launch an independent investigation and act immediately to protect him.
Lesotho journalist and human rights defender Kananelo Boloetse was abducted on 5 September 2026 from his home in Katlehong, Maseru, in an attack that press freedom and rights groups say was linked to his work. Amnesty International says three unidentified men forced him away, questioned him about his journalism and human rights activities, assaulted him and threatened to kill him. He was later left badly injured in Thaba-Bosiu, about 20–25 kilometres from the capital.
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Boloetse edits Newsday Media and is a human rights defender as well as a former chairperson of MISA Lesotho, the Lesotho chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa. He also helped found The Advocates for the Supremacy of the Constitution (SECTION 2), a civic movement that promotes constitutional democracy, freedom of expression and civic space in Lesotho. Much of his work has centred on government accountability, the rule of law and amplifying perspectives often shut out of public discussion.
Details reported by press freedom groups suggest the assault was tied directly to Boloetse’s professional and civic activities. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said the armed assailants restrained and handcuffed him, sealed his mouth with duct tape and beat him as they drove him away from his residence. He was later tortured and told that if he spoke publicly about the ordeal, the attackers would come back and kill him. After he was dumped, Boloetse received medical care at a hospital and then lodged a complaint with police in Maseru.
The background to the attack has deepened alarm among rights organizations. Newsday Media said Boloetse’s residence appeared to have been watched before the abduction. The IFJ has also pointed out that the assault followed a major cyberattack that disrupted Newsday Publications’ website and email systems after investigative reporting on education financing in Lesotho. The abductors have not been identified, and no link between the incidents has been established.
MISA Lesotho has characterized the assault as a bid to frighten not only Boloetse but journalists more broadly. The organization is calling for an urgent investigation, concrete assurances for the safety of Boloetse, his family and the Newsday Media staff, and accountability for all those who planned, enabled or carried out the attack.
Front Line Defenders has likewise urged Lesotho’s authorities to conduct an independent and impartial inquiry into the abduction, assault and death threats. It has called for investigators to examine any possible involvement of state security personnel, without presuming the outcome. The organization says it believes Boloetse was targeted because of his human rights work.
Amnesty International has issued an Urgent Action on behalf of Kananelo Boloetse, pressing the authorities to ensure his safety and shield him from further threats, intimidation or reprisals. The organization is also demanding a prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigation, with anyone suspected of criminal responsibility brought before the courts in fair proceedings.
The attack on Kananelo Boloetse reflects a wider pattern repeatedly documented on ChannelDraw: the targeting of journalists, press freedom and human rights defenders. An assault on a journalist for the questions he asks and the rights he defends is not only violence against an individual. It sends a warning to those who scrutinize power, record abuses and bring information into the public domain.
As Amnesty International has emphasized, journalists and human rights defenders must be able to do their work freely and safely. Threats and violence against people exercising freedom of expression cannot be allowed to become tools for enforcing silence.
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