R 011400Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 3897
DHS IP BP WASH DC
INFO AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 
SADC COLLECTIVE
AMEMBASSY MASERU

UNCLAS MASERU 000324 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR CA/FPP, JOHANNESBURG FOR RCO MICHAEL VEASY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC LT
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON SECURITY FEATURES OF LESOTHO PASSPORT- CORRECTED 
COPY 
 
REF: a) Maseru  000293  b) Maseru 323 
 
 
This cable provides complete details of security features which 
were made available to conoff after reftel (b), Maseru 000323, 
was prepared. 
 
¶1.  Summary:  On October 21, 2008, Consular Officer Lillie J. 
Kamanu visited the Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of 
Immigration and Passport Services to obtain information about 
security features of Lesotho's passport.  The passport is 
required identification for primary school leavers and for all 
basic financial transactions.   Mrs. Kamanu was accompanied by 
Consular Assistant Ms. Mabereng Taole and Regional Security 
Officer Kimberly K. Jones.   MOHA Officers described security 
features incorporated into the front and back covers, first 
page, and center pages cover.  Fraud concerns expressed by the 
Acting Director Passport Services echoed those referred to in 
the Maseru Fraud Summary submitted by reftel. 
 
¶2.  Differences in old and new passports:  Changes in new 
passports have been useful in spotting counterfeit passports 
especially when pages from different types of passports have 
been combined to create a counterfeit travel document. Third 
Country nationals, particularly Nigerians, have attempted to 
utilize this method to deceive immigration officials. 
a)      Texture of paper in new passports is different from that 
in old passports. 
b)      New passport has barcode on bottom right of page 1. 
c)      The signature's approval box is separated in two parts in 
the old passports, but in the new 2008 version there is only one 
box. 
d)      Old passports had a thicker laminate which was easily 
compromised. 
e)      Old laser printed passports were easily counterfeited. 
f)      New system uses an inkjet printer. 
g)      The security adhesive laminate combines a number of 
features to prevent forgery. Because of its thinness, it is very 
unlikely that it may be removed. On this foil the emblem of the 
KINGDOM of LESOTHO appears four times and is printed in 
invisible fluorescent ink.  The crest also appears as a visible 
fixed element which overlaps the photograph. 
 
¶3.  ID number 
a)      No definitive details on the ID number. 
b)      The only consistent portion of the ID number is the code 
for date of birth, place of birth, and gender. 
c)      Numerals are arranged ddmmyy, followed by the District 
Code. 
d)       District Codes:  A: Maseru; B: Butha Buthe; C: Leribe, 
D: Berea, E: Mafeteng; F: Mohale's Hoek; G- Quthing; J: 
Mokhotlong; K Thaba Tseka Q: Qacha's Nek. 
a.      Example:  120360D030830F represents a Female born 12 
March 1960 in Berea District (D) 
e)      The digits in between the district code and the gender 
code vary depending on the printer used to produce the document. 
 
¶4.  Inside front cover: 
a)      Portrait of King Moshoeshoe I seated on a rock is 
prominent. 
b)      The optically variable inks (OVI .) are characterized by 
a unique and sharp change of color according to the viewing 
angle causing the word Lesotho across the top to glow 
transitionally from shades of Green to Dark Blue. 
c)      When viewed through a special red FCO decoder/filter, 
the letters L, S, O appear on the three red flowers layered in 
graduated sizes on the upper left corner. 
d)      A latent image of `Kingdom of' appears vertically in 
intaglio in row of maroon and navy blue designs on right margin. 
e)      A latent image of `Lesotho' shows horizontally in 
intaglio in designs of the same colors along lower margin. 
f)       The micro printing on the rock on which King Moshoeshoe 
I is seated reads `Kingdom of Lesotho' printed in characters 
that can read only under strong magnification. 
 
¶5.  Middle pages - pp 16 and 17 - 
a)      Three (3)double stitches at the top and at the bottom. 
All others are single.  Counterfeiters miss this feature. On 
page 17 ONLY the `s' in the Coat of Arms is backwards. 
 
¶6.  Each page 
a)      The watermark ,which varies with the thickness of the 
paper, reveals King Moshoeshoe  I and the translation of 
Passport in Sesotho: `PHASEPOTO'. 
b)      UV reveals the page number, a man on horseback and a map 
of Lesotho throughout the passport. 
c)      A conic hole produced by Laser perforation throughout 
the thickness of the passport is unworkable by a traditional 
needle punching machine. 
d)      The FCO . labyrinth consists of geometric shapes 
composed of lineal rasters. The variation of the different 
angles of the raster interferes with the scanner beam or a color 
printer. These security documents are printed in colors, which 
do not belong to the usual range (magenta, yellow, and cyan, 
black). 
e)      Each page contains fluorescent inks which react under 
ultraviolet light  to reveal specific designs in green, blue and 
red. 
f)       The vertical rainbow printing allows a precise mix of 
inks of several colors producing  a narrow juxtaposition of 
shades which are extremely difficult to reproduce  by scanner, 
or color photocopy. The design appears reversed on adjacent 
pages. 
g)      The numismatic background global design is perfectly 
regular and difficult to counterfeit. 
 
¶7. Page 32 
a)       A scrambled image of the text `KINGDOM of LESOTHO' will 
appear when a FCO decoder is placed over the blue rectangle. 
 
¶8.  Bio page 
a)      UV Light reveals the Coat of Arms 4 times across the 
lower portion just above the Machine Readable area.   A large 
spiral aloe, the national plant of Lesotho,  is prominent on the 
right.  One crest is near upper right corner of photo and above 
that four wavy lines are visible. 
b)      Arrow on right side is destroyed if laminate is tampered 
with. 
c)      The laminate is less thick on new passports and does not 
cover the entire page.  Earlier passports contained a laminate 
which extended onto the front inside cover. 
 
¶9.  Fraud concerns expressed by  Acting Director Passport 
Services, Ntate Sello,  echoed those referred to in the Maseru 
Fraud Summary submitted in reftel (a). 
a)      In the absence of a reliable computerized data base and 
biometrics, applicants and duplicate passport holders are 
difficult to track. 
b)      Data related to old passports have not been merged 
/migrated into new system, further complicating tracking. 
c)      It is not unusual for people to apply for passports in 
different names, not necessarily to commit visa fraud, but to 
commit fraud in obtaining loans, bank transactions. 
d)      Applications, some legitimate are based on unreliable, 
questionable documents a/o information. 
e)      Poor data management at registrar of births, deaths make 
it easy to obtain (new) passport in different identity or for 
unscrupulous purposes. 
f)      Village chiefs sign affidavits easily for a "son of the 
soil", one of their "people" 
 
 
NOLAN