Lesotho ‘disowns’ Netflix prison documentary

Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) Commissioner Mating Nkakala has ‘disowned’ a documentary film shot inside the Maseru Central Prison by a British journalist, Raphael Rowe, as part of a series titled Inside The World's Toughest Prisons. Rowe is seen in the film interacting freely with Maseru prisoners in red overalls. Although the documentary was shot in 2019 and became a hit on Netflix the following year, Nkakala said they were only speaking about it now because they had been approached by Rowe for another filming session. The Lesotho Times reports that Nkakala said the documentary should not have been shot in the first place because it was illegal to do so. It is not clear who allowed Rowe access to shoot the documentary, but the commissioner has vowed this will not happen again. He added that local journalists had complained that the LCS was biased against them in that while it had refused them access, it was allowing foreign journalists to film the prisons.