Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Ministry of Communications Science and Technology organized one day high-powered symposium last Friday in Maseru. This comes amid the ongoing consultations of the proposed draft of Computer Crime
and Cyber Security Bill of 2020. This week the Ministry met with relevant stakeholders working to discuss and exchange ideas which will help on the formulation of this upcoming bill.
The proposed bill will have cyber and computer crime related offences punishable by law. Speaking at the symposium, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Dr. Monyane Moleleki said Lesotho
faces “vulnerability” of cyber space infiltration and this he said it has enabled “rough elements” to exploit it. Adding also that the country has not
been able to reap the “dividends” on cyber space due to absence of cyber law. “I wish to emphasize that ICT (Information and Communications Technology) cut
across all sectors and plays pivotal role to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he said. The DPM further made mention that the government “recognizes” the importance of ICT
and cyber security. “The parliament intents to put forward the bill for this law (cyber security and computer crime),” Moleleki said. The Leader of the House (National Assembly) went on to show that Southern African
Development Community (SADC) has adopted the digitization strategy. Presenting on the same event ICT Researcher from the University of Witwatersrand Dr Kiru
Pillay said growing populations are more prone to the cyber-attacks and the trend is escalating. “The role of the government is to create an enabling environment,” Dr Pillay said.
He made an emphasis that the government (of Lesotho) should encourage the private sector to get involved in formulating the national security cyber policy.
He continued to urge African states to show more commitment in responding to cyber challenges by developing policies and legal instruments as response
mechanisms. He also advocated for the formulation of Critical Information Infrastructure (CII). National University of Lesotho (NUL) Computer Scientist also Head of Cyber Security NUL
Department Napo Mosola, told the participants that “the problem is not the internet but the people who are the weakest link” highlighting the importance
of ICT awareness. “Cyber security culture needs to be embedded,” he made emphasis. He added that inadequate capacity skills and lack of security are the
challenges that need to be addressed. Principal legal officer at the Ministry of Communications Science and Technology Advocate ‘Makamohelo Mofilikoane, said the bill will serve as a legal instrument to
prosecute cybercrimes offences committed through usage of computer and electronic communication devices when speaking to Informative Newspaper last week.
“If there is no law, harassment on people and other (cyber and computer) related
offences can happen (unpunished),” said Advocate Mofilikoane. Adding also that as an “achievement” the Ministry developed the Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) policy in 2005 which this proposed law will come in handy for its implementation. Some of the offences which this proposed law will punish are child pornography,
cyberbullying, illegal interception, illegal data interference, cyber terrorism, misuse of devices, racist and xenophobic material, genocide and crimes against humanity, disclosure of details of an investigation, violation
of intellectual property rights, cyber-squatting amongst others. If one is found guilty of violating this law the penalties attract seemingly hefty fines ranging from M50, 000 to M2, 000, 000 or twenty-five years imprisonment.
