11 February 2026
A government complex in Maseru. Photo: Sechaba Mokhethi
A civil society group has accused the Lesotho government of unlawfully treating public appointments as political rewards, warning that the practice deepens public mistrust at a time of severe unemployment.
In a statement on Monday, Advocates for the Supremacy of the Constitution, known as Section Two, said recruitment in the public service and foreign missions is opaque, with positions allegedly being allocated to politically connected individuals without following due processes.
Section Two pointed to Section 20 of the Constitution, which guarantees every citizen “access, on general terms of equality, to the public service”. The organisation argues that this provision, read together with public service laws and regulations, requires vacancies to be advertised and appointments to be made strictly on merit.
The Public Service Act states that entry into service “shall be determined solely based on merit … after fair and open competition which assures that all citizens of Lesotho receive equal opportunity”.
Section Two criticised the recent appointment of the secretary general of the Alliance of Democrats, a party in the governing coalition, as third secretary at the Lesotho High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa.
Section Two says the vacancy and post were never advertised.
It also criticised the appointment of the chairperson of the Women’s League of the ruling Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) as a commissioner in the Local Government Service Commission, and the appointment of the President of the RFP Youth League as Director of the Youth Apprenticeship Programme in the office of the Prime Minister.
“These examples are illustrative only,” said Section Two, adding that there were “many similar appointments that appeared suddenly and without explanation”.
Section Two has called on the government to immediately advertise all vacancies in the public service, state-owned enterprises and foreign missions, and to ensure appointments are made through transparent and competitive processes.
In response, government spokesperson Boitelo Rabele told GroundUp that all appointments were made within existing legal and institutional frameworks.
He said recruitment into public service is conducted by statutory bodies such as the Public Service Commission and the Local Government Service Commission.
Rabele added that when appointments fall outside standard recruitment processes, these are permitted within specific frameworks. He said executive prerogative applies to certain political, contractual and special-purpose positions.
“The key questions are whether an appointment was made by a legally established appointing authority and whether the individual meets the qualifications, experience, and suitability requirements for the position,” he said.
Meanwhile, the youth of Lesotho grapple with one of the highest unemployment rates in the region. About 39%, or roughly 300,000 Basotho aged between 15 and 35 are jobless, and about 227,000 young people have given up looking for work altogether.
In July 2025, the government declared youth unemployment a national disaster, a two-year measure meant to unlock emergency interventions and job creation programmes.
As previously reported, the declaration followed growing public anger and scenes of young people crowding military recruitment centres in search of a livelihood.
Section Two said the declaration was merely a political move and not a serious policy response, arguing that it was designed to restore calm when the youth were on the verge of mass protest.
Seven months on, the organisation says, calm has returned, but jobs have not.