Global Courant 2023-05-17 10:29:14
Radio journalist Ralikonelo Joki was shot multiple times by unknown assailants.
Authorities in Lesotho have imposed an indefinite curfew in the hope that restricting people’s movement at night will help curb gun violence in the tiny South African kingdom.
The curfew, which went into effect Tuesday, comes just days after a prominent radio journalist was shot dead in a murder that shocked the nation.
“Effective today, a curfew is imposed on all persons throughout the Kingdom of Lesotho,” said a notice published in the government gazette on Tuesday.
Residents are not allowed to be outside between 10 p.m. (8 p.m. GMT) and 4 a.m. (2 a.m. GMT), according to the document signed by Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli.
The curfew will remain in effect until further notice, Molibeli said. Those who do not follow the rules risk a fine or up to two years in prison.
Police Minister Lebona Lephema said the move was aimed at tackling gun violence across the country.
The minister stressed that this is done to stop the escalating crime in the country.
Prominent radio presenter, #RalikoneloJoki was killed last night.
— News Day Lesotho (@LsNewsday) May 15, 2023
Journalist Ralikonelo Joki, a current affairs show host on a local private radio station, was shot by unknown assailants as he left his workplace in Maseru on Sunday night.
The Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) said Joki was shot once in the head and at least 13 times in the body by unknown assailants.
Authorities in Lesotho must thoroughly investigate the murder of Ts’enolo FM presenter Ralikonelo ‘Leqhashasha’ Joki and ensure those responsible are brought to justice,” said @angelaquintal , @press freedomprogram coordinator Africa.
— CPJ Africa (@CPJAfrica) May 15, 2023
Joki, the host of the current affairs show ‘Hlokoana-La-Tsela’ (I Heard It Through the Grapevine), covered government, agriculture and corruption, and was best known for breaking a 2021 story about five politicians who illegally traded alcohol,” the CPJ said in a statement,
“The journalist received at least three death threats from different Facebook accounts in March and April in connection with his work as a journalist,” the organization said.
No arrests have been made in connection with the case and the investigation continues.
The CPJ called on authorities to launch “a credible investigation” into the murder.
Gang-related shootings are common in Lesotho, a landlocked mountainous country of two million people, where a large number of unlicensed firearms are in circulation.
