Lesotho's Home Affairs and Police Minister, Voeswa Tsheka, is at the center of a controversy over the recruitment of 500 new police officers. The allegations claim that she is attempting to interfere in a process legally entrusted to the Chief of Police, Advocate Borotho Matsoso. According to sources, Minister Tsheka has been in office for only five months and is accused of seeking to control the recruitment process by pushing for an outside consultant to oversee aspects of the exercise.
The recruitment process began on 29 September 2026, after Prime Minister Sam Matekane announced that his government had given Adv Matsoso the greenlight to hire 500 police officers to capacitate the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) to fight the ever-escalating crime level. The process has attracted considerable public interest, particularly because police recruitment involves the selection of young Basotho into an institution entrusted with maintaining law and order.
A source close to the matter claims that the minister, in her capacity as the political head of the police, has powers to prescribe the number of officers to be recruited, but not to take over the day-to-day administration of recruitment. The allegations have raised questions about the separation of political oversight from the operational administration of the LMPS, particularly as the force moves to fill the 500 vacancies.
The controversy follows a 10 September 2026 memorandum from Acting Director of Police Directorate, Francesca Makepe, to Adv Matsoso, requesting the LMPS “to collaborate in a public consultation and research exercise” on police recruitment. The memorandum says the exercise was directed by Minister Tsheka and was intended to gather public and stakeholder views on how recruitment could be made “fair, transparent, merit-based, credible and accessible”.
However, the initiative has reportedly caused unease within the police service, with allegations that the consultation is being used to create a parallel mechanism through which the minister could influence who gets recruited. The source alleged that Minister Tsheka’s involvement had gone beyond legitimate ministerial oversight and that a list of about 50 people purportedly being prepared by politicians for consideration in the recruitment process.
According to the source, the recruitment process falls squarely within the administrative responsibilities of the LMPS and should therefore be conducted under the authority of the Chief of Police. The source further alleged that Minister Tsheka’s intervention had taken a more serious turn, with the proposed consultation being unusual because the LMPS has traditionally handled its recruitment through its own established administrative structures.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of a major recruitment drive by the LMPS, which has opened applications from Basotho youth aged between 18 and 30 seeking to fill the 500 vacancies. The involvement of an outside consultant would raise further questions about who ultimately controls the recruitment process and who would be accountable for the final selection of recruits.
Key points
- Minister Tsheka is accused of overstepping her powers in the recruitment of 500 new police officers.
- The recruitment process has attracted considerable public interest, particularly because police recruitment involves the selection of young Basotho into an institution entrusted with maintaining law and order.
- The controversy raises questions about the separation of political oversight from the operational administration of the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS).
