Lesotho youth demand echo in EU-backed film premiere

‘MATLALA RAMAJOE

MASERU – A powerful documentary chronicling Lesotho’s landmark 2020 youth protests premiered in Maseru last Thursday, launching the country’s commemorations for International Youth Day 2025.

The Waking of a Forgotten Generation, directed by Motikoe Khiba, was screened by the European Union (EU) and the Transform Lesotho Initiative. The event drew a diverse audience, including EU delegates, civil society leaders, students, and government officials.

Emotions ran high as scenes of peaceful protest, police confrontation, and impassioned speeches played out on screen, reminding attendees of the courage and conviction that defined the movement.

The film vividly captures the BachaShutdown Aluta movement, a youth-led uprising demanding government action on critical issues, graduate unemployment, gender-based violence (GBV), tertiary education funding, and political accountability.

The screening, held in Maseru, marked the beginning of Lesotho’s commemorations for International Youth Day 2025. What began as a November 2020 peaceful march to parliament delivering these demands erupted into a national movement.

Using raw footage, interviews, and archives, Khiba’s documentary immerses viewers in the movement’s courage and conviction, showcasing scenes of protest, impassioned speeches, and the heavy-handed police response involving arrests and tear gas. The screening sparked palpable emotion among the diverse audience of EU delegates, government officials, students, and civil society leaders. The documentary captures the spirit of a generation that refused to remain silent.

“This screening is more than remembrance, it’s a catalyst,” said a Transform Lesotho representative. The event is part of the Initiative’s broader campaign to amplify youth voices and foster dialogue with policymakers.

As International Youth Day approaches, the documentary delivers a potent message – Lesotho’s youth are wide awake, engaged, and determined not to be sidelined. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, the movement faced heavy-handed responses from law enforcement, including arrests and tear gasing.

These moments, captured aggressively in the documentary, sparked renewed calls for reform and justice. The screening of The Waking of a Forgotten Generation is part of a broader campaign by the Transform Lesotho Initiative to empower youth voices and foster dialogue between young citizens and policymakers.

The BachaShutdown movement began as a peaceful march to Parliament, where demonstrators delivered a memorandum demanding employment opportunities for graduates, stronger action against GBV, increased funding for tertiary education and greater accountability from elected officials.