Mohale FM Cells designed for a handful of inmates now hold triple their capacity. Toilets sit inches from beds. Windows barely allow in fresh air. In some facilities, inmates go months without basic hygiene supplies.
This is the grim and degrading reality inside the country’s correctional centres—conditions that lawmakers now warn are not only inhumane, but a growing public health risk.
THE Senate has sharply criticised the perilous living conditions within the Lesotho Correctional Services (LCS), following a damning report by the Committee on Government Assurances (CGA) after a fact-fi nding mission to the Maseru Central Correctional Institution (MCCI).
The visit was prompted by a question raised by Senator Joel Motšoene on 7 May 2025, demanding clarity from the Minister of Law and Justice, Richard Ramoeletsi, on measures in place to ensure that correctional facilities provide a humane and conducive environment. Dissatisfi ed with assurances given at the time, the CGA undertook a follow-up inspection on 11 September 2025 to assess progress.
Tabling the report before the Upper House on Thursday, committee member and Senator, Mawinnie Kanetsi, said the fi ndings exposed a correctional system under severe strain, with longstanding promises largely unmet.
“The purpose of the visit was to establish whether the Ministry had implemented the assurances it made
before this House. What we found on the ground shows that very little has changed in terms of living conditions,” Ms Kanetsi said.
She explained that while LCS management pointed to parole releases ahead of King’s Birthday last year as a measure to ease congestion, overcrowding remains a defining feature of the system.
In July 2025, His Majesty King Letsie III approved the release of 240 inmates on parole to mark the 200th anniversary of the Basotho nation and his 62nd birthday celebrations.
