Maseru
Lesotho’s Ministry of Health is drifting into a crisis that senior officials can no longer deny. It is a crisis documented by the Ministry’s own Human Resources personnel. It is a crisis confirmed by internal correspondence that has been on the Principal Secretary’s desk for more than a year. And now new allegations suggest that the rot has continued despite repeated warnings.
Sources at the Ministry confirmed to the Lesotho Tribune that as recently as Thursday 27 November 2025, the same Mr Jack who has long been accused of manipulating recruitment processes has reportedly hired scores of new workers. These individuals are believed to be headed to Maseru District Hospital. It is alleged that each person paid fifteen thousand maloti directly to him to secure employment.
This is unfolding in a public health system that has been brought to its knees by staff shortages, collapsing services and chronic mismanagement.
Leadership Pretends Not To Know
When the Lesotho Tribune approached the Principal Secretary for Health, she acknowledged being warned about the sale of jobs and requested that we bring her evidence. She said we should meet her on Monday 1 December 2025. Her response was startling because the leaked letter exposing the malpractice carries a date stamp from her own office that is more than a year old. The information has been in her possession for months. It was not new to her. What is new is public scrutiny.
A Recruitment System That Has Become a Private Business
The leaked HR complaint paints a disturbing picture. Shortlisting inside the Ministry has collapsed into a one man operation. One officer allegedly handpicks candidates in complete disregard of the Public Service Act. There is no consultation with line managers. There is no supervision. There is no compliance with the law.
The requirements of the Act are clear.
Section 8 demands merit based recruitment.
Section 10 allows the Minister to create policies that promote fairness and equal opportunity.
Sections 20 and 21 insist that recruitment be transparent and compliant with the Act.
The Regulations require that HR must shortlist with the line manager and obtain approval from the Head of Department and the Minister.
None of this is being followed.
The leaked memo states that the current system “perpetuates factors of bias and corruption” and creates fertile ground for job selling. The language is calm but the meaning is severe. Recruitment has become a personal revenue stream.
A Case That Laid Bare the Abuse
The letter cites a real case that exposed the depth of the malpractice. A candidate was shortlisted and appointed as Manager Childhood Illnesses without input from the line manager. The line manager refused to accept the appointment. They had no role in the process. They had no knowledge of it. The officer who was appointed through this flawed process is now stuck in a professional limbo created entirely by the Ministry.
The case is still unresolved. It is one example of many. And it is happening at a time when Lesotho continues to lose experienced health workers to better governed systems in the region.
Whistleblowers Punished, Not Protected
The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences has been silent, even though job selling is a textbook example of corruption. Our sources inside the Ministry say the silence is not accidental. They claim that details of the whistleblowers were shared with senior management. These individuals were later transferred to remote facilities with harsh working conditions. The transfers were not coincidental. They were punishment.
The whistleblower anticipated this possibility. In the leaked letter they write that the memo “might put my head on the block”. They were right. They were targeted for telling the truth.
Minister Silence and Political Questions
We also asked Minister Selibe Mochoboroane whether he had instructed Mr Jack to hire village health workers aligned to his political party. He did not respond. The silence feeds suspicion. The Ministry’s leadership has been aware of the allegations for over a year. None of them have acted decisively.
A System That Has Normalised Illegality
What emerges from all the documents and testimonies is a Ministry that has allowed illegality to become routine. A Ministry that treats recruitment as an informal marketplace. A Ministry that protects the perpetrators and abandons the victims.
When one man can shortlist candidates, sell positions, ignore line managers, and continue operating despite a formal complaint that reached the PS, the Minister, the Director General, the Director HR and the Public Service Commission, it becomes clear that this is not a rogue act. It is a structural collapse.
The DCEO’s Silence Is A Scandal On Its Own
The DCEO said it wasn’t aware of this particular case. It was created to investigate exactly this type of misconduct. Its failure to act is a scandal within a scandal. It raises the question of whether the Directorate has capacity or whether it is simply unwilling to confront politically protected wrongdoing.
Lesotho continues to spend millions on anti corruption institutions that retreat when the stakes are high.
The Collapse of Governance at the Heart of the Health System
The Ministry of Health is supposed to protect lives. Instead, its hiring system has been turned into a private business venture. Laws are being ignored. Whistleblowers are being punished. Public trust is being shredded.
This is no longer an internal administrative issue. It is a collapse of governance at the core of the health sector.
A Call for Immediate Action
Lesotho cannot rebuild its health system under this level of corruption. The Public Service Act is not optional. The leadership cannot continue pretending that the evidence does not exist. The DCEO cannot continue protecting silence.
The country deserves a Ministry that hires fairly. A Ministry that protects whistleblowers. A Ministry that does not sell jobs to desperate Basotho. A Ministry that treats public office as a public trust.
This is a scandal the Ministry of Health cannot hide any longer.
