The protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms is entrenched in Lesotho’s Constitution and national legislation. Yet Amnesty International’s (2018) most recent report on Lesotho cites a “sharp increase” in human-rights violations as the country experienced prolonged political and security crises, including allegations of abuse, torture, and extra-judicial killings.

Against this background, we examine popular attitudes in Lesotho with regard to basic rights related to the use of physical force, free expression and association, and discrimination.

Findings from the latest Afrobarometer survey show that a remarkable two-thirds of Basotho say police routinely abuse or torture people in their custody. Most Basotho reject wifebeating as “never justified” but endorse physical disciplining of children both in the home and at school.

Strikingly, only one-third of Basotho endorse media freedom, a sharp decline from 2014, while most endorse free association and say they are at least “somewhat” free to say what they think. Basotho also see equal opportunities for women and men but are divided on whether daughters should be allowed to become chiefs.

Afrobarometer survey  Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues in African countries.

Six rounds of surveys were conducted in up to 37 countries between 1999 and 2015, and Round 7 surveys are being completed in 2018. Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples. The Afrobarometer team in Lesotho, led by Advision Lesotho, interviewed 1,200 adult Basotho in November/December 2017.

A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Previous surveys were conducted in Lesotho in 2005, 2008, 2012, and 2014.