Lesotho army admits teenagers were sexually harassed

Boot campers during a fun walk in Mafeteng on Saturday. Photo supplied

• The Lesotho Defence Force has admitted to two incidents of sexual harassment involving girls at its Mafeteng boot camp.
• The abuse occurred during medical transfers in a military ambulance by a soldier assigned as a caregiver.
• The army commander says the soldier has been detained and will be dismissed.
• The head of an opposition party says other girls have contacted him, saying they have been raped. He has called for an independent civilian inquiry into the youth training programme.

The Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) has confirmed that two girls in its care were sexually harassed. The girls were enrolled at a youth boot camp at Mafeteng military base. The incidents occurred during transfers in an ambulance.

The admission follows allegations raised last week by opposition leader and MP Machesetsa Mofomobe, who publicly accused the military of failing to protect children participating in the camp.

According to the LDF, 377 children (265 boys and 112 girls) are currently enrolled in the programme. The ages range from 13 up.

Launched in 2021, the LDF Boot Camp is a six-week youth development programme. It is intended to instil discipline, patriotism and leadership through physical training, civic education and life-skills activities.

The current intake began on 14 December. Eight days later, allegations of sexual abuse surfaced publicly, placing the programme under intense scrutiny.

On Saturday, senior LDF officials addressed parents and boot camp participants during a fun walk in Mafeteng, where they confirmed two incidents of sexual harassment involving female campers.

Speaking at the event, Lieutenant Colonel Bokang Melato, the LDF’s youth development coordinator, acknowledged the two cases but emphasised that the army did not authorise the soldier’s actions, and the perpetrator would be held responsible for his misconduct.

Admitted incidents

Melato said the incidents occurred while the girls were being transported by military ambulance from Mafeteng to Maseru for medical treatment.

In the first incident, a soldier assigned as a caregiver made inappropriate remarks to a girl during the return trip, telling her: “You are beautiful; I wish you could be my girlfriend.” Initially, Melato said, other soldiers present dismissed the comments as a joke.

The comments were repeated upon reaching Mafeteng town, prompting concern from other soldiers. The girl later reported the matter to her instructor, who escalated it to senior officers.

Before the first case had been concluded, a second girl also fell ill and she was reportedly transported in the same ambulance with the same caregiver.

Melato said the soldier again made inappropriate advances. While assisting the girl, who was seated with her legs stretched out, the caregiver knelt in front of her, asked her to tie her shoelaces, and “kissed her by mistake”.

“The girl was seated in the ambulance with her legs stretched out, and the person assisting her was kneeling in front of her,” Melato explained.

The LDF did not disclose the identities of the girls or the perpetrator but said, “Most of our intake is very young. Some are only 13, and many are 14 years old.”

Dismissal

Melato said the soldier was immediately removed from the camp and transferred to Maseru, where the matter would be handled beyond the programme’s internal structures. Parents of the affected children were also informed.

“We have never encountered such a case since we began training children in 2021,” he said.

Despite the incidents, Melato defended the programme. “These challenges are not ones that should stop the youth development boot camp,” he said. “If one individual has tainted the programme, that individual must be removed, not the programme.”

LDF Commander Lieutenant General Mojalefa Letsoela said he was “overcome by intense and frightening anger” when he learned of the incidents.

“I have been entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the nation,” Letsoela said. “I also have the authority to remove anyone who acts against the safety of the public.”

He said the soldier had acted in direct defiance of military command and had disgraced the institution.

Letsoela confirmed that the soldier had been detained at a military holding facility and said his dismissal from the LDF was inevitable. “For this individual, his membership in the LDF has come to an end,” he said.

He warned that the incident had severely damaged the reputation of the army.

“Even our enemies are laughing at us because of this,” he said. “After incidents like these, how will children wear the uniform with pride?”

Call for independent inquiry

Following the LDF’s admission, Mofomobe formally called on Prime Minister Samuel Matekane to establish an independent commission of inquiry into the boot camp programme.

In a letter to Matekane on Saturday, Mofomobe said the allegations pointed to a potentially wider pattern of abuse.

“Within 24 hours of my public disclosure, the LDF confirmed that a member had been arrested for alleged sexual harassment,” he wrote. “This elevates the matter from mere allegations to an issue of national concern.”

Mofomobe further claimed that two additional girls had privately contacted him, alleging they were raped during the programme.

“These communications suggest the incident may not be isolated but part of a broader and entrenched pattern of abuse,” he said.

He insisted that investigations must be conducted by the police and other civilian authorities, not internally by the military. “There is a well-founded public perception, informed by historical precedent, that internal military processes often result in concealment and intimidation,” Mofomobe said. “Justice must be visibly independent to command public confidence.”

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