Maseru Central Prison built for 500 inmates, now holds 971.
- Tuberculosis, scabies and pellagra are spreading in overcrowded Lesotho prisons.
- Almost none of 78 reform recommendations made in 2023 have been implemented.
- An ombudsman report warns that underfunding and neglect are driving a health and human rights crisis.
Overcrowded prison cells in Lesotho are experiencing outbreaks of tuberculosis, scabies and pellagra, with conditions now critical, says ombudsman advocate Tlotliso Polaki.
A report released last week by Polaki paints a grim picture of a prison system that has deteriorated since a 2023 investigation exposed widespread human rights violations.
Three years later, almost none of the 78 recommendations made in that report have been implemented, says Polaki.
Lesotho Correctional Services spokesperson Pheko Ntobane did not dispute the findings. “About 98% to 99% of what is in that report is true. It is a fair report,” he told GroundUp.
Overcrowding driving disease
According to the report, prison population has grown from 1,835 inmates in 2023 to 2,757 in March 2026. Maseru Central Correctional Institution, built for 500 inmates, now holds 971.
About half the country’s prisons are overcrowded. In some, cells meant for four people hold ten inmates, with prisoners sleeping on concrete floors.
Polaki says these overcrowded conditions are driving disease.
Tuberculosis and scabies are also widespread. The report describes them as endemic in overcrowded, poorly ventilated cells where hygiene is poor and inmates are in close contact.
At Mafeteng prison, some inmates have pellagra, a disease caused by severe nutritional deficiency and rarely seen outside extreme poverty.
“Overcrowding leads to all these illnesses,” says Ntobane.
Polaki’s 2023 report also documented disease outbreaks, malnutrition and poor healthcare. Her latest report says conditions have only worsened.
Ntobane says many of the country’s prisons are “old colonial-era facilities”, such as Qacha’s Nek, Quthing, Teyateyaneng and also Mokhotlong, a juvenile facility designed for 50 minors but now holds close to 100.
Health and food shortages
Healthcare inside prisons remains critically under-resourced, according to the report.
Some facilities still have no resident nurses and rely on visiting staff only available on certain days. In some prisons there are no medical staff after hours, leaving officers to decide whether sick prisoners should be taken to hospital.
The report found prison clinics are poorly stocked. Prisoners told investigators they are often only given painkillers regardless of their condition.
Chronic illnesses frequently go untreated because of medicine shortages, including interruptions to life-saving HIV treatment.
Polaki also identified cases during the inspection period where prisoners had died in custody after not being transferred to hospital in time.
Nutrition is also a concern. Regulations dating back to 1959 require a balanced diet that includes meat, vegetables and milk, but prisoners continue to receive the same meal daily. “The diet has never been anything beyond pap with beans or peas all year round,” the report says.
The report states that poor nutrition has directly contributed to malnutrition and diseases such as pellagra. Prisoners reported rarely receiving protein or fresh produce.
Ntobane says overcrowding and limited funding made it difficult to provide a balanced diet.
Sanitation collapsing
Polaki found several prisons have been without soap since late 2025.
Cleaning material such as detergents and disinfectants are also scarce, forcing prisoners to clean cells using ash or torn blankets.
The report also documents lice and bedbug infestations. Recommendations for regular fumigation were not implemented.
Waste management has deteriorated, with rubbish piling up, attracting vermin.
At Berea prison, 225 inmates share four toilets and waiting times can exceed two hours, according to the report. Some prisoners resort to using buckets in their cells at night.
Frequent water outages at many prisons have further worsened hygiene and sanitation conditions.
Crumbling buildings
Infrastructure has continued to deteriorate since 2023.
Facilities previously identified as unsafe, including Berea, Quthing and Qacha’s Nek, remain in use despite being declared unfit for human habitation. No reconstruction has begun, the report states.
Prisoners remain in buildings with collapsing walls, leaking roofs and faulty electrical systems.
The demolition of Mafeteng prison because of structural risks has seen prisoners relocated to other facilities, worsening overcrowding elsewhere.
Recommendations ignored
Polaki says a failure to act has led to this crisis.
Of the 78 recommendations in the 2023 report, none have been fully implemented and only a fraction have seen partial progress.
She says chronic underfunding, lack of political will, weak oversight, and poor coordination are to blame.
Budget allocations have not kept pace with the growing population, she says.
Limpho Tau, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, admitted there were major health challenges due to overcrowding and Lesotho announced plans last year to release hundreds of prisoners.
Without urgent intervention, she warns, the system risks collapse.
“The house of Lesotho’s correctional system remains in ruins,” Polaki concludes.
Oliver Tambo served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991, advocating for anti-apartheid efforts.
360
What do you call the oke at a South African gathering who cooks the food?
Braai\’n
duke electro
A British man on safari walks into a bar far out in the reaches of a game reserve in Southern Africa, he stays at the bar for a while shooting the shit with the bartender and drinking like a fish, he offer to buy the barkeep a round and since no one else is within 2km of their small oasis of liquor the barkeep obliges. The englishman goes off to the bathroom to have a good old go at the porcelain, he\’s back and ready for a few more whiskeys. He\’s just sat down when suddenly in the distance he hears a scream. He looks over his shoulder and dismisses it as nothing, he turns to the barkeep and orders a drink, takes a sip and hears the scream again. He looks at the barkeep who just shrugs it off. A minute or two later he and the barman hear it again and go outside to take a look. They see a lone figure running towards them screaming, he spots them and lets out a cry, RUN!!!!! HE\”S COMING!!!!!
The barkeep and the Englishman both look at the terrified bedraggled sight before them, and try to calm him down, but he\’s completely inconsolable. They give him water and finally manage to get a word out of him but he struggles free from their grasp and run away screaming.
A few minutes later the same thing happens with a whole group of men running in and screaming, he\’s coming, he\’s coming the barkeep grabs hold of one of the men as he tries to sprint past the bar and tries to get information out of him, again no response other than terrified gibberish.
The barkeep and his customer are starting to get worried, they start to pack up before another group of horrified natives run up to the bar most of them flee but one tries to hide behind the bar, the barkeep pulls out a shotgun and points it at the terrified man\’s face, finally managing to coax some words out of him. \”He\’s coming for us, Vernon Koekemoer is coming for us, we have to hide!!! We have to get out of here.\” He gets up and tries to run but the barkeep grabs him, feeling trapped in a panic he grabs the barkeeps shotgun and blows his own head off. The Englishman and the barkeep look at each other starting to really panic now.
They look out of the window and off in the distance they see a tornado coming towards the bar, at the bottom of the tornado they see the hugest beast of a man they have ever seen, as he gets closer they spot that he is riding a rhinocerous and using a crocodile as a riding whip, with each smack of the crocodile across the back of the rhino the louder is screams and the faster it runs, the tornado following it getting ever larger.
The 2 look at each other and start to fortify their position, they\’ve got a gun and they\’re waaay to drunk to run, so they start piling bar stool and tables and anything they can get their hands on to make sure they\’ll be safe when he arrives. They\’re not gonna make it, they can see the man slowing down his rhino, by now the crocodile is nothing but reptile paste on the bruised rump of the half dead rhino, the rhino drops down dead from exhaustion and crashes to the ground right outside the bar the tornado loses it\’s last breath in a cloud of dust as the huge man crashes his way through the make shift barricade and charges up towards the bar where the 2 men have taken shelter, he grabs a bottle of the hardest liquor on the shelf and down the entire litre in 1 gulp, he peers over the bar sobbing and sees the 2 defenders cowering down behind the crates of beer, they look up at the mans\’ face and he stares at them with a look of complete and utter hopelessness, he stares at them for a half second and half screams, half sobs, \”Oh my god what are you still doing here!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!! Vernon Koekemoer is coming!!!!\”