LDF retirement Bill sparks outcry

The proposed Lesotho Defence Force (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which seeks to extend the retirement age of army personnel from 45 to 62 years, has ignited fierce controversy.

Critics this week expressed fear of militarisation of government and the potential for entrenched military influence on the country’s political landscape.

The Bill was presented in the National Assembly for the first time on Monday this week by Minister in the Prime Minister’s office, Limpho Tau.

If passed into law, the retirement age of various ranks within the LDF will increase to the following: Major General and higher ranks to 62, Brigadier General, Colonel to 60, Lieutenant Colonel, Major to 59, Captain, Lieutenant to 57, Second Lieutenant to 55, and Medical Doctors, Legal officers and chaplains to 60.

Junior ranks will be subject to the following changes in retirement age: Warrant Officer Class 1 (60 years), Warrant Officer Class II (58), Staff Sergeant (57), Sergeant, Corporal, Lance Corporal and Private (55), and Boy to 58.

MPs from the ruling Revolution for Prosperity and opposition as well as non-governmental -organisations showed their disdain for the proposed Bill.

MP for Matlakeng Constituency, Dr Mahali Phamotse opposed the amendment, arguing it represents a misguided approach to addressing the country’s youth unemployment and fiscal challenges.

She cautioned that extending the tenure of senior LDF personnel could deny job opportunities to young officers and also breed resentment within the military ranks, potentially leading to instability.

“This is a ridiculous and inconsiderate move given the country’s high youth unemployment rate and overburdened public wage Bill,” Dr Mahali noted.

She added opportunities in the army, police and correctional service should be used to create jobs for young people, not to extend the tenure of older personnel.

This discriminatory and seemingly self-serving policy could spark discontent within the army, potentially leading to dangerous unrest, she said in an interview with theReporter this week.

Abia Constituency MP from RFP, Jacob Makhalanyane, also objected to the amendment.

Makhalanyane expressed concern that the proposed Bill contradicts the government’s stated objective of creating jobs for youth.

He pointed out the that proposed changes could prevent young soldiers from advancing within the army.

Makhalanyane also criticised the “discriminatory nature of the proposal”, questioning the wisdom of retaining older, less agile personnel while forcing out younger, potentially more dynamic soldiers.

“There is no LDF Amendment Bill, 2025 that will pass as long as I am alive. I mean it,” he wrote on his social media account this week.

Local non-governmental organisation, the Advocates for the Supremacy of the Constitution (SECTION 2) argued that the Bill, though cloaked as a reform for professionalism, harbours provisions that brazenly contravene Sections 18 and 19 of the Constitution safeguards ensuring protection from discrimination and equality before the law.

“The legislation threatens to fracture the LDF into two warring factions: one of privileged officers and another of disenfranchised soldiers. Should this division take root, the very security of our nation hangs in the balance,” it noted in a statement.

Sections 2 also demanded that Parliament launches an open, inclusive consultation with legal scholars, civil society, members of the public, and LDF members of all ranks, among others.

The organisation further implored the government to halt “this reckless course, revise the Bill to uphold fairness and constitutional integrity, and avert the radicalisation of low-ranked soldiers abandoned by their leaders”.

However, defending the proposed Bill at a press conference this week, Minister Tau argued that the current retirement ages of 45 for junior LDF personnel and 55 for senior personnel were suboptimal.

He said these ages do not align with the needs of the country’s armed forces, adding that the amendments would improve the LDF’s efficiency and experience.

The current retirement ages place an unfair burden on the LDF personnel and their families, he noted.

“At the age of 45, officers are still in the prime of their careers and have significant financial responsibilities such as children’s education. It is unwise to dismiss these highly trained personnel before they have reached the peak of their skills and experience.

“Similarly, to send officers into retirement at the age of 55, when they are the height of their experience and responsibility, with the ability to guide and groom their juniors, would do no good to the institution,” Tau remarked.

He also highlighted the importance of retaining senior officers to maintain institutional knowledge and ensure continuity within the LDF.

According to Tau, the insinuation that the Bill was tailored for the LDF Commander, Lieutenant General Mojalefa Letsoela is unfounded.

“The LDF serves at the pleasure of a democratically elected government, not the other way around. The government is committed to ensuring that the military remains accountable to the people and in service to the country, not to any particular political party.

“The current Commander’s contract, which was extended for three years in August 2022 by the former Prime Minister Majoro (Dr Moeketsi)’s government is set to expire in August this year. Therefore the Bill, if passed into the law, would not apply to him and other senior officers whose services with the institution were already ending,” Tau asserted.

Tau also avoided addressing the discriminatory nature of government’s move, of favouring the arming and leaving out other security agencies.

“I cannot talk about the police they fall under a different ministry. As for the National Security Service, there are transformations in the pipeline, that I cannot delve into now.”

The Bill is currently under scrutiny by relevant committees including portfolio committee on the Prime Minister’s Ministries and Department, Governance, Foreign Relations and Information Cluster.