IMPUNITY Commissioner for failing to prevent such Former prime minister Thomas Thabane was crimes. In November 2020, the Chief Justice charged for the 2017 murders of Lipolelo in the high court had awarded Tšolo Tjela Thabane, his estranged wife, and the LSL400,090 (around US$28,000) which was attempted murder of her acquaintance, reduced by the appeal court. Thato Sebolla. He was informed of the GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE charges by the high court on 30 November. He and his current wife, and former First Gender-based violence, including domestic Lady Maesaiah Thabane, are the main violence, continued to rise in the context of suspects in the case. In February 2020, Covid-19, especially in rural areas where Maesaiah Thabane was charged with murder, more women and girls lost their jobs and had attempted murder and conspiracy to murder. to rely on their male partners for survival. The high court in Maseru, the capital, Access to legal remedies for women in these granted her bail but in July 2020 she was re- areas was limited, partly owing to lack of arrested when her bail was revoked and information. In March, UNAIDS reported that released again on bail of LSL10,000 (around one in three women had been abused by an US$700). In February 2020, Thomas intimate partner, and less than 40% of Thabane had sought immunity from women who experienced violence reported it prosecution as a sitting prime minister but or sought help. the case was abandoned when he stood ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL down the following May. In August 2021, RIGHTS Nqosa Mahao, who had been removed from his post as law and justice minister in April, According to an economic survey carried out revealed that, following police investigations by the World Bank, Covid-19 lockdown during his tenure, enough evidence had been measures resulted in job and income losses gathered to arrest and charge Thomas affecting people in urban and rural areas. Thabane with his late wife’s murder. The global economic slowdown led to a However, the Director of Public Prosecutions reduction of remittances sent home by decided not to pursue the charges. In Basotho who worked abroad, especially in September, police sources told the Lesotho South Africa where many were employed as Times newspaper that political interference domestic workers or in mining. This resulted and other forms of obstruction of justice in increasing economic hardship. continued to hinder progress. RIGHT TO HEALTH FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic The government used Covid-19 as a continued to put the already inadequate justification for its ban on protests, denying healthcare system under strain. Early in the people their right to peaceful assembly. year, Lesotho emerged from a second wave TORTURE AND OTHER ILL-TREATMENT of infections. Vaccines were still in short supply by mid-year, and the vaccination drive In May, the Court of Appeal awarded struggled to gain momentum. By the end of LSL250,000 (about US$17,500) in damages the year, only 30.2% of the population had to Tšolo Tjela for the torture he was subjected been fully vaccinated while around 30.5% to in police custody in Mafeteng city in 2015. had received one dose; 31,106 Covid-19 According to the judgment, the cases and 683 related deaths had been compensation covered “shock and suffering, recorded since the beginning of the contumelia and medical expenses”. The pandemic. Sinopharm in China, foreign Court said the torture of suspects by police corporate companies and multinational officers was responsible for making “the corporations continued to donate Covid-19 country… lawless” and blamed the Police vaccines and PPE to Lesotho. Amnesty International Report 2021/22 233