Sentebale Welcomes the Conclusion and Findings of the Charity Commission Compliance Case
6 August 2025, LONDON, UK
Sentebale welcomes the announcement by the Charity Commission today confirming the conclusion of its compliance case into the charity. It welcomes the confirmation that the charity has validly appointed trustees now in place to take the charity forward and that the Charity Commission has issued an Action Plan to provide a structure within which to address certain governance issues.
Sentebale wishes to thank the Charity Commission for the thorough way in which it has conducted the review, including its responsiveness to the governance concerns that were first privately raised with the Charity Commission in February 2025 through its whistleblowing procedure. The Board of Sentebale has been pleased to cooperate with the Charity Commission fully, sharing a substantial number of internal documents and records to facilitate this important review.
Sentebale also notes the findings by the Charity Commission in relation to the past lack of clarity around role descriptions and internal policies for dealing with disputes and internal complaints.
Stable, Focused, and Ready for the Future
Since March 2025, Sentebale has weathered an extraordinary period of turbulence and a shifting international funding landscape that has increasingly deprioritised Africa. Despite this, the charity remains on track to serve at least 78,000 children and young people across Lesotho and Botswana this year, matching or exceeding our 2024 impact. Its senior leadership team has maintained exceptional partnerships with governments, traditional leaders, and donors.
Alongside this, the continued implementation of the transformation work has brought about a diligent focus on efficiency and stewardship within the organisation, with the result that actions which were identified during 2024 have now been implemented. Since the start of the year the organisation has been reconfigured:
The senior executive leadership has been established in Southern Africa, closer to the operations in Lesotho and Botswana.
The smaller Board has proved agile and able to respond quickly to the needs of the organisation and the requirements of the Charity Commission.
A cost-management programme driven by operational efficiencies has been implemented across the organisation.
The cost base of the charity has been reduced by some 25% on an annualised basis.
These changes have been executed without any reduction in service delivery in the charity’s programmes, while retaining 95% of its staff following completion of the global restructuring.
Sentebale emerges more unified, with active programmes and undiminished impact, ready to move forward with renewed focus and strength.
The Action Plan prescribed by the Charity Commission is totally aligned with the Board’s thinking, and the governance-related actions include:
Introduction of a new policy and process for addressing internal complaints within the charity, including whistleblowing
Implementation of a policy for resolution of internal disputes that is enshrined in the constitution
Introduction of a code of conduct for defining trustees’ acceptable behaviour
Implementation of a new approach to delegation of responsibilities so that roles are clearly defined, including any future patron relationships
The findings mark an important milestone for Sentebale, aligning with the priorities set by the Board following the internal governance review initiated in 2024. Work to strengthen governance is well underway, and the charity looks forward to reporting on its full delivery.
With these strong foundations now in place, Sentebale can move forward with confidence—free from interference, committed to continuous improvement, and focused on delivering solutions addressing health, wealth and climate resilience for children and young people in Southern Africa. Our programmes reflect the breadth of the charity’s impact as well as the growing global recognition that the progress towards an HIV/AIDS-free generation attained to date can only be sustained if communities have agency to manage risks such as economic dependence, co-morbidities and climate vulnerabilities.
The Board and Executive are proud that service delivery has continued uninterrupted, and that progress on strategic reform has remained firmly on track. Sentebale now invites partners, funders, and supporters to stand with it as it builds a bold and sustainable future together.
Commenting on these developments:
Dr Sophie Chandauka MBE, Chair of Sentebale said:
“I appreciate the Charity Commission for its conclusions which confirm the governance concerns I raised privately in February 2025. The experience was intense, and it became a test of our strategic clarity and operational resilience. We have continued to directly serve children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana with the steadfast support of long-standing funders, strategic partners, and community leaders. Our phenomenal team will directly serve more than 78,000 children and young people this year, matching or exceeding our impact in 2024 at a time of acute need in the region. I thank every dedicated colleague and the courageous new Board members who have stayed focused on the mission in the face of unprecedented media glare. The unexpected adverse media campaign that was launched by those who resigned on 24 March 2025 has caused incalculable damage and offers a glimpse of the unacceptable behaviours displayed in private. We are emerging not just grateful to have survived, but stronger: more focused, better governed, boldly ambitious and with our dignity intact. Despite the recent turbulence, we will always be inspired by the vision of our Founders, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso, who established Sentebale in memory of their precious mothers, Princess Diana and Queen ‘Mamohato. To all who believe in our mission: please walk with us as Sentebale recovers, renews, and rises to meet the hopes and expectations of the next generation.”
Iain Rawlinson, Trustee of Sentebale said:
“I am grateful to the Charity Commission for the thoroughness of its work. With its findings, and with clarity provided by the Action Plan, the transformation work envisioned from 2023 can now be completed. This will propel the Charity’s strategy forward for providing solutions addressing health, wealth and climate resilience for children and young people in Southern Africa and will provide comfort to all our stakeholders in Africa and internationally that the organisation’s governance arrangements have been updated and are complete. This will in turn facilitate our due diligence processes with individual donors and major funding institutions who are keen to work with us to support our strategy.”
Dr Bhakti Hansoti, Trustee of Sentebale said:
“I am pleased the Charity Commission has placed its confidence in Sentebale, the current Board and its leadership team. This affirmation allows us to continue the critical work we do—work that is needed now more than ever. In a time of global uncertainty and declining foreign assistance, funding for essential services in Southern Africa is increasingly limited. And the effect will be felt most by young Africans. They not only face immense health challenges, from ongoing challenges with HIV and TB and new threats such as mpox and VHF, but often lack the resources to recover, build wealth, and support their families. Sentebale exists to change that reality. The Charity Commission’s findings reaffirm the direction we’ve been taking. It’s important amidst all the noise to highlight the Commission’s concerns centered around governance—specifically, issues that pertained to the previous Board. Today, Sentebale is governed by a new Board which is committed to best practice. I’m honoured to be a part of this small but dedicated team that we will be building upon soon. We’re focused on instituting robust governance practices and policies to ensure transparency, accountability, and effectiveness.”
Carmel Gaillard, Executive Director of Sentebale said:
“The conclusion of the UK Charity Commission’s case review marks an important moment of reflection and of recognition. Despite the understandable uncertainty this process created, our entire team never wavered. Their commitment to the young people and communities we serve remained steadfast, and our work continued without interruption. We are profoundly grateful for our partners across Lesotho and Botswana. Their trust in us as one of the region’s most respected and reliable implementing partners has meant everything. They stood by us, confident in our impact, our values and in the integrity of our work. With the Commission’s review now closed, we move forward with focus and clarity, continuing to serve, uplift, and empower the young people of Southern Africa.”
SENTEBALE CLARIFICATION REGARDING BULLYING AND HARASSMENT STATEMENTS
It provides Sentebale with some degree of reassurance that the Charity Commission has not identified widespread bullying within the charity, but the Commission has acknowledged the strong perception of ill treatment felt by a number of parties to the dispute and the impact this may have had on them personally.
The Charity Commission is explicitly clear, including in its public guidance, that it is not the Commission’s responsibility to adjudicate or mediate internal disputes. This would include individual allegations of bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir, etc.
As a result, the Commission has not investigated any individual allegations and therefore has not made any findings in relation to individuals, including Prince Harry.
The issues not investigated by the Commission can and may be dealt with through avenues more appropriate than the Commission.
ENDS
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NOTES TO EDITORS
About Sentebale
Sentebale works with children and young people aged 0 -24 in Lesotho and Botswana to create sustainable solutions across three impact areas: health, wealth creation, and climate resilience. Each year, Sentebale directly supports over 78,000 children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana.
- In health, we support young people living with or at risk of HIV through psychosocial care, adherence support, and youth-friendly services.
- To build economic wellbeing and resilience, we provide vocational training, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship programmes that equip young people, especially adolescent girls, with the skills to secure employment, start businesses, and support their families.
- In response to increasing climate-related adversities in a part of the world where people are subsistence farmers and rely on the land, we are a core implementation partner in the regeneration of landscapes and livelihoods (ROLL) across rural Lesotho. These community-led efforts protect natural resources, strengthen livelihoods, and promote long-term sustainability.
For nearly two decades, Sentebale has worked closely with youth, caregivers, and local institutions to design culturally relevant, locally led programmes that empower the next generation of African leaders.
The organisation was founded by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, and HRH Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, in memory of their late mothers. The name Sentebale means “forget-me-not” in the Sesotho language, representing a pledge to remember the most vulnerable children in the region.
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