Mohalenyane Phakela

HIGH Court Judge Tšeliso Monapathi has given Frazer Solar 14 days to respond to Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro’s application to nullify the award of £50 million (M856 million) damages to the German company. The damages are for the government’s alleged breach of the two parties’ M1, 7 billion 2018 deal for the supply of solar power to Lesotho.

Justice Monapathi issued the order on 1 November 2021 in response to the government’s application on the matter.

Advocate Motiea Teele appeared on behalf of Attorney General Rapelang Motsieloa who instituted the application on behalf of the government.

The application, which is in addition to his pending lawsuit in South Africa’s Gauteng High Court, is a clear indication that Dr Majoro is pulling out all the stops in his quest to reverse the controversial deal which could cost the country as much as 2 percent of its gross domestic product.

In his application filed on 21 September 2021, Dr Majoro wants the Lesotho High Court to nullify a 2019 South African arbitration award of damages to Frazer Solar. The damages are for the government’s alleged breach of the 2018 contract the German company claims to have entered into with the previous Thomas Thabane-led government for the supply of solar power to Lesotho over four years.

Justice Monapathi on 1 November granted the government condonation for the late filing of its application against the damages award and further ordered that if Frazer Solar intends to oppose the application, it should do so within 14 days of being served with his order.

South African lawyer, Nicole Rebecca Gilfelleon, will represent Frazer Solar in the application, hence Justice Monapathi’s order will be served in South Africa and not Germany where the company is based.

In his court papers, Dr Majoro argues that Lesotho cannot be held liable for an agreement that was clearly founded on “falsities”.

“The Kingdom cannot be bound to an agreement that includes an undertaking and clauses that are clearly false and known to the parties that purported to sign the agreement,” Dr Majoro states.

“It will be against public policy to hold the Kingdom to an agreement that is clearly founded in falsities and was concluded with the ulterior purpose of creating obligations that the Kingdom would have already breached as soon as the agreement was concluded. Significantly, I note that these breaches are what Frazer Solar relied upon in its claim against the Kingdom in the arbitration.”

Dr Majoro savages former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Temeki Tšolo, for “fraudulently and corruptly” signing the botched deal on behalf of the government.

Dr Majoro says he had no right to negotiate and sign such an agreement. Mr Tšolo has previously denied signing the deal on behalf of the government.

However, Dr Majoro insists that he signed and, in the process, violated national laws which stipulate how such contracts are agreed and how payments to third parties are made.

He accuses the former minister of acting outside his powers by “clandestinely” signing the agreement without the knowledge and approval of parliament, cabinet and himself as the finance minister at the time.

“Mr Tšolo did not notify the chief accounting officer nor did he inform the Ministry of Finance of the supply agreement before it was signed. Minister Tšolo acted alone. Minister Tšolo also breached regulation 32(b) (of Public Procurement Regulations) when he decided to act alone to commit the Kingdom to a €100 million (M1,7 billion) financial commitment. There can be no doubt that the purported conclusion of the supply agreement was unlawful and invalid for failure to comply with the Public Procurement Regulations.

“Minister Tšolo undertook to commit the Kingdom to the financing agreement without parliament’s approval. In light of the provisions of the constitution and statutory framework, it could never be permissible for a minister in the Office of the Prime Minister to conclude an agreement of the nature of the supply agreement concluded by Minister Tšolo.

“He acted unlawfully and beyond his powers and abused his discretion when he concluded the agreement without the approval or cooperation of the Minister of Finance, parliament, cabinet or the procurement unit. A reasonable member of cabinet who is not a finance minister would never commit the Kingdom to a loan of €100 million.

“Minister Tšolo acted in bad faith to the detriment of the Kingdom for the exclusive benefit of a foreign entity. He was acting in pursuit of a purpose other than to protect the interests of the Kingdom. Minister Tšolo was not advancing the public interests of the Kingdom. His actions in appointing Frazer Solar and concluding the supply agreement were unreasonable and fall to be reviewed and set aside,” Dr Majoro argues.

He further argues that the deal should have been negotiated and signed by the Ministry of Energy and Meteorology, not by Mr Tšolo.

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Pascalinah Kabi

PRIME Minister Moeketsi Majoro’s quest to overturn a South African arbitrator’s award of £50 million (M856 million) damages to Frazer Solar has received a boost from the South African government which has decided to fight in his corner.

The South African government argues that granting Frazer Solar damages from Lesotho’s revenues due to it in terms of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) would irreparably harm the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

It further argues that Lesotho could retaliate by cutting water supplies to South Africa in terms of the 1986 treaty between the two countries. The South African government’s arguments are contained in the court papers recently filed in the Gauteng High Court by the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA).

The TCTA is the South African government’s implementing arm of LHWP treaty which ensures constant water supplies to South Africa from Lesotho. It pays royalties to Lesotho for the water. Frazer Solar has moved to have the water royalties garnished as part of efforts to recover some of the money owed to it by the Lesotho government in terms of the damages award.

Frazer Solar was awarded the massive damages by arbitrator, Vincent Maleka, for the government’s alleged breach of a 2018 deal for the German company to supply Lesotho with solar power and related equipment over four years.

In April this year, Frazer Solar successfully petitioned the Gauteng High Court to endorse the award and allow it to garnish Lesotho’s revenue from the sale of water to South Africa in terms of the LHWP treaty entered into by the two countries in 1986.

Dr Majoro subsequently petitioned the same court to reverse its decision on the grounds that there was no binding agreement between the two parties. The premier even accused former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Temeki Tšolo, of corruptly and fraudulently signing the initial agreement which Frazer Solar used as the basis for its damages claim. Dr Majoro has also filed another application in the Lesotho High Court to stop Frazer Solar from seizing any of the state’s assets.

His South African court application has now received the support of the South African government.

In its court papers, the TCTA argues that the royalties should not be garnished to pay Frazer Solar as they are supposed to be paid out to the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) which has a separate legal existence from the Lesotho government with whom the German company has a contractual dispute.

“Trans-Caledon owes the cost related payments to the Highlands Authority (LHDA),” the TCTA argues in its court papers filed in support of the Lesotho government’s application on 28 October 2021.

“Those claims belong to the Highlands Authority. The Highlands Authority and Lesotho are separate persons in law. Frazer has a judgment against Lesotho. Frazer views the Highlands Authority’s assets as fair game. It cannot send the sheriff to attach the Highlands Authority’s assets.

“The test is not whether Lesotho owns the Highlands Authority. Nor is the test about how international law treats the relationship between them. Rather, the test asks whether the Highlands Authority is a separate legal entity. If it is a separate legal entity, then its assets are its own, not that of its shareholders,” the TCTA argues.

In any event, South Africa’s Foreign States Immunities Act protects a foreign government’s assets from seizure as contemplated by Frazer Solar, the TCTA argues.

“Section 14(1) (b)(ii) of the Foreign States Immunities Act states that “the property of a foreign state shall not be subject to any process … for the enforcement of a judgment or an arbitration award”. Lesotho’s royalties are “property of a foreign state” within the meaning of section 14(1) (b)(ii). A debt that Trans-Caledon owes Lesotho is the “property” of Lesotho under section 14(1)(b)(ii).

“This general rule is subject to two exceptions: a consent exception and a commercial-use exception. Neither exception applies. The commercial-use exception applies to ‘property which is for the time being in use or intended for use for commercial purposes’. But the royalty claims are not ‘in use or intended for use for commercial purposes’.

“The royalties are paid pursuant to an international treaty that is primarily aimed at developing sustainable sources of water for South Africa and electricity for Lesotho. The treaty’s purpose is not commercial and Lesotho does not make a commercial gain from the royalty payments. For these reasons, Frazer is not entitled to attach the royalties Trans-Caledon owes Lesotho.”

TCTA further argues that allowing Frazer Solar to seize the water royalties would not only irreparably harm relations between Lesotho and South Africa, it would also threaten the LHWP treaty and the security of South Africa’s water supplies from Lesotho.

“Trans-Caledon supports Lesotho’s application. The Highlands Authority incurs the costs to run the Project (to supply water to South Africa). If royalties are not paid to the Highlands Authority—because Trans-Caledon must pay them to Frazer— the Project will not operate at optimal levels, and its planned expansion will likely come to a halt. The Highlands Authority routinely hires third party contractors to maintain the Project. The Project needs regular maintenance to function properly. If Trans-Caledon pays the costs to Frazer instead of the Highlands Authority, contractors will not be paid. If they are not paid, they will not work. This will, in turn, increase the risk of operational failures and, ultimately, risk Gauteng’s taps running dry.

“The costs also cover expenses for the expansion of the next phase of the Project. The Highlands Authority has already concluded contracts with third parties for several construction projects necessary for the new phase. The contracts are time-sensitive with substantial delay penalties. Without the costs, the Highlands Authority will not be able to pay these contractors. There may be delays, breaches, and reverberating damages claims. Delays to the new phase will also undermine South Africa’s water security in the future.

“As far as the royalty payments go, Trans-Caledon paying them to Frazer instead of Lesotho risks irreparable harm to Lesotho’s economy, as Lesotho predicts. And quite apart from an economic fallout, Lesotho has already indicated to the government of South Africa that it will view a failure to pay the royalty payments as a breach of the treaty. If Lesotho treats non-payment of the royalty payments as a breach of the treaty, there is a risk that Lesotho may stop or reduce the supply of water to South Africa. The government of South Africa would have no easy remedy; a long-term interruption to one of South Africa’s major sources of water would be inevitable.

“For these reasons, execution of Frazer’s judgment debt risks irreparable harm to diplomatic relations between Lesotho and South Africa, to the continued existence of the treaty and the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, and to the security of South Africa’s water supply,” TCTA argues.

Meanwhile, Frazer Solar and the Lesotho government have issued separate statements indicating that the case in the Gauteng High Court has been postponed to a date yet to be decided.

Dr Majoro’s press attaché, Buta Moseme, said the postponement was due to the South African government’s decision to file papers in support of the Lesotho government’s application for the nullification of the damages award.

On the other hand, Frazer Solar argued that the filing of the application by the South African government was highly irregular.

“This highly irregular step was intentionally taken to delay the court hearing…,” Frazer Solar said in a statement this week.

“On Monday 8 November, two days before the hearing was due to start, the Court ordered a delay with a new hearing date yet to be determined but likely to be in 4 to 5 months.

“Lesotho Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro’s legal team have offered to delay a critical hearing in the South African High Court two days before it was due to start, gifting Frazer Solar a critical win in its ongoing legal dispute. The decision belies previous statements about the urgency of freeing up much-needed funds. If the Prime Minister was so sure of his case, why offer the delay?

“It’s not the action of a man who expects to win. Despite months of rhetoric from Dr Majoro on the strength of his government’s case, at the first real test, he has wavered. We have no difficulties with Lesotho government’s demand that the hearing be delayed and the royalties remain frozen. In one fell swoop, they have undermined their own case for urgency and their allegedly dire need for the financial royalties,” Frazer Solar said in a statement this week.

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Bereng Mpaki

ACTING Auditor General, Monica Besetsa, has rapped the Maseru District Council (MDC) for its shoddy rural road construction work during the 2019/20 financial year.

The revelations are contained in Ms Besetsa’s report on the government’s consolidated financial statements for the 2019/20 financial year. Among others, the audit unearthed issues ranging from inadequate financing and poor project management.

She said some of the council’s construction works were so poor that even before completion, the roads would have started deteriorating. She said some maintenance works were falsely certified complete when they were in fact incomplete.

Some of the works were affected by funding challenges and where funds were available, they were released late and therefore negatively affected the works.

“It was observed from the documents review that roads took long to be completed as they were never given enough funds,” Ms Besetsa said.

“The roads which were given funds for three consecutive years but were still in progress during the time of the audit in September 2019. The reason provided for this was that it was not possible to inject the limited funds given in a financial year into one project in a community council but had to be distributed across different community councils to address their needs.”

There was however, over M2 million in unused funds for roads upgrading and maintenance due to their late release to the MDC.

“It was established that in the 2017/18 financial year, Maseru District Council had a budget for maintenance/rehabilitation of Mahloenyeng to Matsieng and Seng Setala roads, funds were received in the second quarter of the year but were not utilised at the end of the financial year.

“For example, the Mahloenyeng to Matsieng road was budgeted (sic) M1 012 000 for tools and equipment and Seng Setala had a budget of M1 125 00 for blasting that were not utilised.”

The unused funds were returned at the end of the financial year. She said the reasons provided for unexpended funds was that they were released late in the financial year, in August 2017 and that the equipment had already moved to other community councils.

Ms Besetsa also discovered that some roads maintenance projects were falsely certified complete.

“It was discovered that parts of the roads which had been maintained were already wearing off before maintenance could be completed though they were certified complete by the principal technical officer.”

On the Ntlo Kholo to Mahaheng road project, Ms Besetsa noted; “An amount of M97 000 was paid for the work done. However, during the audit inspections in June 2019, it was observed that the maintained road was in such a bad condition as it eroded during rainy season and had therefore returned to its original condition”.

“Furrows, which were made to channel water, did not divert it from the road as intended.”

The Mahloenyeng to Matsieng road whose maintenance started during the 2017/18 financial year, was partly destroyed by the rains by June 2019, making it difficult for the community to use it, she said.

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Bereng Mpaki

ANOTHER week, another killing. This time the victim is French pastor, Francois Snyman, who was gunned down at his Semonkong home during the weekend.

Mr Snyman was shot dead in front of his wife and children during a robbery by unknown assailants. The killers took off with an undisclosed amount of money and some valuables.

The two masked gun-toting assailants broke into the house while Mr Snyman, his wife, Mariette, and their four children were watching television on Saturday evening.

They then demanded money and mobile phones. The family handed over an undisclosed amount of cash, four mobile phones and a laptop. The robbers then shot Mr Snyman several times before fleeing into the night. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby clinic.

Mr Snyman, who was a pastor at Love Lesotho Ministries Church, relocated to Lesotho in 2011.

Deputy police spokesperson, Sub-Inspector ‘Mareabetsoe Mofoka, confirmed the murder, saying investigations were ongoing.

“We are investigating a case of homicide but no arrests have been made so far,” Sub-Inspector Mofoka said.

Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) secretary general, Teboho Sekata, who hails from Semonkong, described Mr Synman’s death as a huge loss for the community.

“He was a true leader who not only ministered the word of God but also fed the people and gave them jobs,” Mr Sekata said.

“At the time of his death, he was constructing a hospital for the people of Semonkong. Currently, the nearest hospital is in Roma, which is very far. Mr Snyman’s death therefore brings uncertainty to the future of that project, which was also employing several people,” Mr Sekata added.

The Semonkong Hospital Trust (SHT), set up by Mr Snyman to raise funds for the construction of the hospital which he was building, said the community was devastated by the news of his tragic death.

“It is with tremendous sadness and heavy hearts that we have to share with you that Francois Snyman was shot on Saturday night in his home. His wife and children were present but were unharmed.

“We would like to ask that you pray for his family as well as the community, who are all devastated.

“While playing a pivotal role in SHT as construction manager of the pilot phase of the Semonkong Hospital, Francois also established a number of ministry platforms from where he served the community. He helped to construct a primary school that provides schooling to more than 300 learners from Grade 1 to 7,” the trust said.

Mr Snyman was also known for farming initiatives which created 200 jobs for villagers and supplying fresh produce to the Semonkong Children’s Home and churches.

Mr Sekata said his murder was likely to scare off potential investors as the homicide rates kept increasing in Lesotho. While Semonkong is known for its tourist attraction, the Maletsunyane Falls, Mr Snyman’s killing could also scare away tourists, he said.

“I am worried that the continued killings could send a bad message to potential investors and tourists. I therefore, call upon the government to restore the rule of law and find Mr Snyman’s killers. The government must help us feel safe again,” Mr Sekata said.

Lesotho has in recent months made headlines on account of its unenviable homicide reputation. Earlier this year, the World Population Review ranked Lesotho sixth in the world in terms of murders.

According to the https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/murder-rate-by-country, El Salvador is the murder capital of the world. Apart from El Salvador, only Honduras (2nd ranked), Venezuela (3rd), the Virgin Islands (4th) and Jamaica (5th) are ranked higher than Lesotho.

Lesotho achieved a score of 41, 25 murders per 100 000 people. This is way higher than the world average murder rate of 7, 03 murders per 100 000 people according to the same website.

Neighbouring South Africa, with 33, 97 murders per 100 000 people, is the only other SADC country in the global top 10 rankings for the highest murders in the world.

Even war-ravaged SADC countries like Mozambique (3, 40 murders per 100 000 people) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (13, 55 murders per 100 000 people) have fared much better than Lesotho when it comes to homicide.

Contributing to Lesotho’s unenviable statistics are several brutal murders including the unresolved killings of women and children that have rocked the country in the past few years.

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Pascalinah Kabi

THE Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) is unhappy with the majority of cabinet ministers and principal secretaries (PSs) who have still not declared their assets to the anti-graft body since the inception of the governing coalition in May 2020.

The anti-corruption agency views the government officials’ declaration of their assets as essential to its efforts to fight rampant graft in state institutions.

Its unhappiness with the ministers, PSs and other government officials’ failure to declare their assets is captured in a 20 October 2021 letter by acting DCEO Director General, Sefako Seema, to the government secretary, Lerotholi Pheko. At the time the letter was written, the only members of cabinet who had declared their assets were Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro; his deputy, Mathibeli Mokhothu; and ministers, Nkaku Kabi (Agriculture and Food Security) and Lekhetho Rakuoane (Law and Justice).

The PSs who had declared their assets are Nthoateng Lebona (Finance), Khothatso Tšooana (Health), Mamonyane Bohloko (Defence and National Security), Thabo Motoko (Foreign Affairs and International Relations), Themba Sopeng (Energy and Meteorology) and Kabelo Lehora (Cabinet).

Other senior government officials who have declared their assets are directors Moshoeshoe Phalatsa, Pete Ramalitse, Mphohla Metsing, Retšelisitsoe Khoalenyane and Lucia Phakisi.

The ministers who had not declared their assets by 20 October 2021 were Samuel Rapapa (Communications, Science and Technology), Motlalentoa Letsosa (Home Affairs), Motlohi Maliehe (Forestry , Range and Soil Conservation), Halebonoe Setšabi (Defence and National Security), Lehlohonolo Moramotse (Local Government and Chieftainship Affairs), Serialong Qoo (Mining), Matebatso Doti (Social Development), Tšoeu Mokeretla (Transport), Thabo Sophonea (Finance), Ntlhoi Motsamai (Tourism, Environment and Culture), Semano Sekatle (Health), Likeleli Tampane (Gender, Youth, Sports and Recreation), Machesetsa Mofomobe (Small Business Development, Cooperatives and Marketing), Likopo Mahase (Prime Minister’s office), Selibe Mochoboroane (Development Planning), Keketso Sello (Public Service), ‘Matšepo Ramakoae (Foreign Affairs and International Relations), ‘Mamookho Phiri (Education and Training), Lebohang Monaheng (Public Works), Moshe Leoma (Labour and Employment), Kemiso Mosenene (Water Affairs), Lepota Sekola (Police and Public Safety), Mohapi Mohapinyane (Energy and Meteorology) and Thabiso Molapo (Trade and Industry).

The PSs who had not declared their assets were Adv Mole Khumalo (Forestry), Malefetsane Nchaka (Water), Retired Colonel Tanki Mothae (Police), Tšokolo Maina (Mining), Nthabiseng ‘Mantsenki Sekete-Mphalane (Social Development), Dira Khama (Education), Dr John Oliphant (Higher Education), Moliehe Moejane (Gender), ‘Mamoeketsi Ntho (Tourism), Maile Masoebe (Transport), Nchaka Makara (Agriculture), Francis Sefali (Trade), Nonkululeko Zaly (Local Government) and Retšelisitsoe Mohale (Law).

In his 20 October 2021 letter to the government secretary, Adv Seema, states that, “Your good office is, as usual requested to assist the Directorate with facilitating the declaration of assets by senior government officials”.

“This is a follow-up to our letter dated 12 April 2021. To date, we have received not more than 10 forms (of assets declarations) and this signifies the extent to which anti-corruption initiative is perceived.

“May we separate the sections by turns, starting with ministers and principal secretaries who have not declared. Their filled forms are expected to reach this office by 5 November 2021. Furthermore, this office requests principal secretaries to submit lists and contacts (cell numbers and email addresses) of directors and heads of departments under their ministries for easy facilitation of the process,” Adv Seema further states.

DCEO spokesperson, ‘Matlhokomelo Senoko, yesterday said more government officials had since declared their assets. However, she refused to say who had since complied. She said those who had not done so had been given until tomorrow to comply.

“The deadline for submitting the declaration forms was initially 5 November 2021 and a significant number of those who had not declared have since complied. However, there are still some who have not declared their assets and they asked to be given until 12 November 2021. The deadline has since been extended to that day,” Ms Senoko said in an interview with the Lesotho Times.

On Monday, Mr Pheko wrote a memorandum to all PSs informing them that they had been given until tomorrow to submit their assets declaration forms.

“As a result of non-compliance, a new deadline for the submission of all declaration forms to the DCEO head office is Friday 12 November 2021,” Mr Pheko said.

A government official, who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media, said the government officials’ reluctance to declare their assets raised questions about their integrity.

“The subtle refusal to declare assets by senior government officials raises a lot of questions in light of the rampant corruption in this country. Why would a minister or a PS find it difficult to declare their assets if their hands are clean? If they have not corruptly acquired anything, they shouldn’t have problems declaring what they own,” the government official said.

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…theft of 75 weapons thought to be an inside job

Pascalinah Kabi

SOME of the 75 guns that were stolen from the Mafeteng Police Station armoury – with inside help from corrupt police officers – have been sold to rampaging Famo gangs largely responsible for the killing sprees in Lesotho and at several illegal mining sites in neighbouring South Africa.

Authoritative police sources this week told the Lesotho Times that three police officers had yesterday confessed to stealing some of the weapons over the weekend. They confessed to selling some of the guns for as much as M50 000 each to the Famo gang members.

The stealing of the weapons from a major police station, that is supposed to be a cradle for the fight against crime, has sent shockwaves across the country.  It has also renewed questions about the competency levels in the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) which has been under the spotlight amid the ever-escalating wave of violent crime across the country.  Corruption and high levels of incompetence and lack of professionalism in the LMPS are seen as being at the core of the increasing crime rates in the country.

LMPS deputy spokesperson, Sub-Inspector ‘Mareabetsoe Mofoka, said the guns had been reported missing on 6 November 2021.

“It is true that there are missing guns,” Sub-Insp Mofoka said in an interview with this publication this week.

“Reports indicate that on 6 November 2021 at around 9am, the officer in charge of the armoury arrived to find that the armoury door was not properly closed. He went in and found that there were missing guns.

“It was discovered that 75 guns were missing. Investigations are ongoing to establish what happened because the number of the missing guns suggests that these guns were not all taken in one night. No one has been arrested to date,” Sub-Inspector Mofoka said.

Although she said they were awaiting the outcome of investigations, she suggested that the theft of the weapons was an inside job.

“The armoury is not a house that can easily be broken into, its structure makes it impossible for one to easily have access. Even fellow police officers don’t have access to the armoury. That this was an inside job will be determined by the investigations.

“It is believed that the guns were stolen with the intention of committing crimes elsewhere or to arm some people. That they (stolen guns) are in the hands of criminals is something that we suspect because there is no way such equipment can be stolen only to be kept at someone’s house. There was no break-in at the armoury, the type of door at the armoury makes it impossible for anyone to break-in. There is no way of breaking into that armoury,” Sub-Inspector Mofoka said.

She said some officers had already been questioned and those who were on duty on the night before the theft of the weapons would all be grilled to reveal “what they saw or heard”.

Police and Public Safety Minister, Lepota Sekola, said given the number of missing guns, there was no way the weapons could have been taken at once.

“It seems that the guns were stolen over a longer period of time. They were stolen over time because there is no way that a person can carry 75 guns at once because they would be too heavy. Besides, how is it possible that they could have been taken out of the police station (without anyone seeing) when other officers were there working?” Mr Sekola asked rhetorically.

Authoritative police sources yesterday told this publication that three Mafeteng police officers had confessed to stealing the weapons and selling them to Famo gangsters.

“Today (yesterday) we had a breakthrough in our investigations. Three officers confessed to stealing the weapons. They confessed to selling some of the guns for as much as M50 000 each to Famo gang members. We are finalising the investigations tomorrow (today) and hopefully the suspects will soon appear in court,” an officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press.

Another senior police officer said preliminary investigations indicated that the officer in charge of the armoury and his accomplices had stolen the guns over a period of time and sold them to the Famo gangs in South Africa.

He said the Mafeteng officer in charge of the armoury was on Monday grilled by a team of officers over the stolen weapons while others who were on duty when the weapons went missing were interrogated on Tuesday and yesterday.

“It is worth noting that all weapons at any police station, including confiscated illegal guns, are stored in one place which is the armoury. There is only one officer who is given charge of the armoury and that officer told investigators that he took the key but forgot to lock the door when he knocked off the previous day. But it is a known fact that the armoury key can only be pulled out of the keyhole when the armoury is locked. He (officer) however, claims he took the key but forgot to lock the door when he knocked off. We find this explanation very suspicious.

“It is even more suspicious that only weapons which are exhibits from alleged crimes were stolen when the armoury was ‘mistakenly’ left unlocked. There is therefore strong grounds to conclude that the officer in charge of the armoury stole and sold the guns to Famo gang members based in South Africa,” the senior officer said.

The officer said this was not the first time that guns had been stolen from the security agencies. He said guns that were stolen from the Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) in 2015 were later recovered from Famo gangsters in South Africa.

“We successfully investigated and recovered 30 guns from Famo gang members based in South Africa.  But what is worrying is that the LCS officer who allegedly stole the weapons is still going to work as his case is pending before the courts of law….,” said the officer.

Another source said the weapons could not have been stolen all at once.

“Under normal circumstances, the armoury is supposed to be inspected on a daily basis to ensure that everything is in order but that was not the case. We would have detected the theft of the weapons earlier if the armoury had been inspected regularly. This just exposes the incompetency in the police service,” the source said, also adding that most of the stolen guns had already been disposed to Famo gangs.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro branded the Famo gangs as terrorists. They have been blamed for the violent killings of their rivals and ordinary people including women and children.

Famo gangs are different groupings of violent Basotho male musicians, competing mainly for prestige in their respective areas of dominance. They seek dominance and prestige in the areas in which they are based through the traditional Famo music genre.    One group of Famo gangsters does not tolerate any other encroaching into its area of influence and resorts to killings to isolate competitors. The Famo gangsters use violence to assert influence. They are also a source of other criminal activities including contract killings, among many other vices.  The Famo gangsters have also fought violent battles over control of illegal mining places mostly in South Africa.

The activities of the Famo gangs amid the proliferation of illegal weapons in Lesotho has since contributed to the high murder rates which have catapulted Lesotho to the top of Africa’s homicide rankings and sixth place globally.

The repeated theft of weapons from Lesotho’s security agencies who are supposed to lead in the fight against crime is particularly worrying.  The problem has even received the attention of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Ahead of the deployment of the SADC standby force to Lesotho from December 2017 to November 2018, the regional body warned of the likelihood of army equipment including missing arms of war being used in plots by rogue soldiers to destabilise the country.  This was after arms had reportedly disappeared from the Lesotho Defence Force armoury. It was thought the arms – whose exact nature and numbers were not publicly tabulated – had been stolen by rogue soldiers bent on destabilizing the coalition government of Prime Minister Thomas Thabane which had won the June 2017 elections.

In fact, the SADC standby force, also known as the SADC Preventive Mission in Lesotho (SAPMIL), was essentially deployed to prevent any rogue soldiers from using stolen weapons to destabilise the then Thabane-led governing coalition as it went about implementing SADC recommended multi-sector reforms to curb perennial instability in the country as well as holding those who had committed crimes accountable.

A confidential report by SADC ahead of the standby force’s deployment stated that some arms of war had gone missing from the LDF armoury and warned that the missing weapons could be used by rogue soldiers to launch reprisal attacks as efforts to hold them accountable for past transgressions intensified.

The report spoke of arms of war and ammunition missing from the armoury of the LDF as well as heavy AK47 rifles that disappeared from the LCS.

While there were never any follow up official reports on efforts to recover arms stolen from the LDF armoury, it is nonetheless common knowledge that illegal firearms had been proliferating in Lesotho since then in tandem with the ever-increasing cases of homicides in the country.

Security sector sources say Lesotho is now also a safe hiding place for South African criminals who after committing violent crimes in that country retreat to hide in this Kingdom. Some of the South African criminals worked in cahoots with local Famo gangsters and corrupt police officials to escape arrests.

The post Guns stolen from police sold to Famo gangsters appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Staff Reporter

CHIEF Justice Sakoane Sakoane this week expelled Lesotho Times’ senior legal journalist, Mohalenyane Phakela, from a Constitutional Court hearing he was presiding over.

This was shortly after Mr Phakela and other journalists had on Tuesday taken their seats in the courtroom ahead of the hearing of Mokhotlong legislator, Tefo Mapesela’s application for an order compelling the speaker of parliament, Sephiri Motanyane, to allow a secret ballot when voting on a proposed no confidence motion against Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro.

Justice Sakoane is the presiding judge in the matter alongside Justices Molefi Makara and Polo Banyane.

Before the matter could proceed, Justice Sakoane ordered all the journalists in the courtroom to identify themselves.

Mr Phakela was the first to introduce himself and the chief justice immediately ordered him to leave, saying he did not want the Lesotho Times “in my courtroom”.

Mr Phakela then asked what the problem was and Justice Sakoane insisted that he should never come to court until the Lesotho Times editor, Herbert Moyo, had apologised to him.

He did not say what had actually angered him. Mr Phakela only learnt yesterday from the Court of Appeal and High Court Registrar, ‘Mathato Sekoai, that Justice Sakoane had been offended by the publication’s satirical columnist, Scrutator, in her commentary published last week.

Titled, “What type of country have we become?”, the column urged Justice Sakoane “to urgently take the nation into his confidence and explain what is happening in the judiciary he leads”.

This after the chief justice and the government had blamed each other for the failure to renew Judge Charles Hungwe’s contract which had expired on 31 October 2021. Justice Hungwe is the only foreign judge still presiding over the high-profile trials of politicians, serving and former members of the security agencies.

The expiry of his contract had thrown his cases into limbo. Justice Sakoane, who heads the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), had accused the government of failing to provide funds to enable them to pay Justice Hungwe’s salary hence the failure to renew his contract. Law and Justice Minister, Lekhetho Rakuoane, replied that this was a matter for the JSC to sort out with the European Union (EU). This was because Justice Hungwe had been recruited by the JSC and his salary was paid by the EU and not by the Lesotho government. It was on that basis that the satirical column had called on Justice Sakoane to explain what was exactly going on.

The column had satirically stated that because of the contrasting versions – either the chief justice or Minister Rakuoane was being “economical with the truth” despite Justice Sakoane having vowed that Basotho deserved to know the truth.    Justice Hungwe’s contract has since been extended to 28 February 2022.

Mr Phakela’s expulsion on Tuesday was not completely a surprise because earlier in the week, three police officers stationed at the High Court had informed him that they were under instructions to bar him from any of the court sessions until the Lesotho Times had apologised.

However, the officers did not explain what the requested apology was for. One of them accompanied Mr Phakela to Registrar Adv Sekoai’s office to seek clarity on the matter. Adv Sekoai then said the issue would be addressed in court.  Mr Phakela was allowed entry into court on Monday to cover other proceedings presided over by Justice Hungwe.

Nothing was said about the matter in court that day. It was on the following day that Mr Phakela learnt from Justice Sakoane that he was unwelcome until the Lesotho Times had apologised to him.

The post Irate Chief Justice Sakoane expels journalist from court over Scrutator appeared first on Lesotho Times.

’Marafaele Mohloboli

THE Lesotho Mounted Police (LMPS) is investigating a 63-year-old former army sergeant for the murder of his wife.

Lepanya Sekopa of Khubetsoana is accused of brutally murdering his wife, ‘Manthethe Sekopa, sometime in August this year.

At the time of the alleged murder, Ms Sekopa (53) had just undergone an appendicectomy.

The body was last week exhumed and a post-mortem revealed that the deceased’s right eye had sunk into its socket, she had facial bruises while the back of her right ear was swollen. The post-mortem was conducted on the grave site before the body was reburied.

Deputy police spokesperson, Sub-Inspector ’Mareabetsoe Mofoka, this week said investigations were ongoing.

“The police are investigating the death of a woman whose family suspected that she may have been murdered,” Sub-Insp Mofoka said.

“The family’s suspicions were sparked by mysterious events in the period leading to her death and her burial.

“The deceased, who had been buried in Sekantšeng, Mafeteng, was exhumed on 8 November 2021 upon the request of her maiden family who approached the police and the courts weeks after her burial.”

Sources told the Lesotho Times this week that Ms Sekopa’s family started noticing Mr Sekopa’s suspicious behaviour before her eventual death.

“Although she had undergone surgery, her husband had not notified any family members. The family only knew of her ailment when her sister in-law called and learnt she was admitted in hospital.

“Her brother only learnt from a Facebook post by the deceased’s son that his sister had died. He then tried to speak to his brother in-law to inquire why he had not been notified in line with Basotho customs. Mr Sekopa told him that it was none of his business.”

When the brother travelled to Lesotho for the funeral, he discovered that Mr Sekopa had reported to the police that his wife’s brother had threatened to kill him. The police however, advised the two to resolve their differences.

More drama was to follow during the burial when Mr Sekopa instructed the pallbearer not to open the coffin for body-viewing.

“The coffin was only opened after a long argument. When it was finally opened mourners were shocked to see that the deceased’s right eye had sunk into the eye-socket. Attempts to seek clarity from the bereaved husband on what had happened failed as he told them off,” the source said.

Ms Sekopa’s brother then approached the police leading to last week’s exhumation.

“The pathologist discovered that indeed the right eye had sunk into the socket and the deceased also had facial bruises. There was a huge swell at the back of her right ear.

“There were some blood clots in her abdomen while there was also evidence of brain injuries,” the source said.

The post Police investigate ex-soldier for wife’s murder appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Nthatuoa Koeshe

THE police have begun investigating the Lesotho Police Staff Association (LEPOSA) over its alleged failure to account for 159 firearms that it purchased for its members through a purchase scheme started in 2014.

The firearms were not accounted for in an audit report presented to the Police Commissioner, Holomo Molibeli, in July this year. The audit was prepared by LEPOSA treasurer, ‘Mathebe Motseki.

This week, 10 police officers from the Criminal Investigations Division (CID), stormed LEPOSA offices in Maseru as part of the probe over the missing guns.

They were accompanied by five members of the Special Operations Unit (SOU).

The search was conducted a day after Commissioner Molibeli had addressed a press conference where he said LEPOSA had repeatedly ignored his orders to account for the 159 guns that it had purchased for its members since 2014.

There was a real danger that unaccounted for weapons could be used for criminal activities which endangered public safety, he said at the Monday press conference.

Incidentally, Commissioner Molibeli was LEPOSA president when the weapons purchase scheme was launched in 2014. LEPOSA’s Lance Sergeant Motseki believes that Tuesday’s search was merely a ploy to collect and conceal evidence which could implicate former and current LEPOSA members who had allegedly misappropriated the M1, 4 million that LEPOSA members paid for the guns.

Prior to the Tuesday search, LEPOSA president, Teboho Modia, had spent the weekend at the police headquarters being grilled over the guns. Lance Sergeant Motseki was also called in on Monday and grilled by the 10 CID officers.

At the Monday press conference, Commissioner Molibeli accused the LEPOSA leadership of failing to account for the weapons despite his repeated appeals for them to do so.

“In 2014, police officers came together and formed a scheme under which they were allowed to import guns. The guns were later imported but the audit report subsequently revealed that 159 guns were not accounted for,” Commissioner Molibeli said.

“We asked LEPOSA what had happened to the missing firearms but they seemed disinterested in giving us an answer and so we ended up forcing the association to give us answers by calling in the president for questioning.”

A search warrant was granted by Maseru Magistrate Nthabiseng Moopisa.

It authorised the CID officers and their SOU colleagues to confiscate LEPOSA cash books, cheque books, internal requisition forms, receipts, invoices, insurance books, the firearms scheme file, computers and anything else related to the firearms transactions.

The officers barred a Lesotho Times crew from entering the LEPOSA building to witness the search operation.

In an interview on the sidelines of the search, Lance Sergeant Motseki said the search was merely to find and conceal evidence which was likely to implicate former and some of the current LEPOSA members in the misappropriation of the money that the members had paid for their guns.

Lance Sergeant Motseki said Commissioner Molibeli was best placed to know what happened to the missing funds because he was LEPOSA president when the scheme started in 2014. She said even after they were ordered, the guns were stored at the police headquarters armoury and not at the LEPOSA offices. She said while preparing her audit report earlier this year, she had been to the armoury and found that only 159 weapons were missing.

“This scheme was started in 2014 while Commissioner Molibeli was still the president (of LEPOSA) and some of the current executive members were part of LEPOSA back then. I only assumed this position in December 2019 but I was grilled by 10 officers over the missing M1, 4 million.

“I worked on an audit report from May this year and submitted it to the police command sometime in July. While working on the report, I discovered that there was no money paid into the LEPOSA account for the 159 firearms.

“I subsequently learnt that the police officers who had bought the guns had paid for them in cash and the then LEPOSA committee which received the monies did not record the funds but pocketed them instead. All this is contained in my report.

“I believe there has always been a plan to cover up the corruption because even before the auditing started, Commissioner Molibeli demanded the firearms scheme file in March this year. I did not give it to him because I needed it for the audit report,” Lance Sergeant Motseki said.

She said the LEPOSA executive was divided over the issue because some members had been part of the executive when the guns purchase scheme was started in 2014.

“This issue has divided us because some of the current LEPOSA executive committee members were among those who benefitted from the scheme when it was started in 2014.

“When I started working on the audit report, my house was broken into and furniture was destroyed. I think they were trying to instill fear in me so that I stop with the audit. However, I did what I had to do and we will continue to fight until the truth comes out,” she said.

The post LEPOSA probed over “missing” firearms appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Mohalenyane Phakela

POLICE Commissioner, Holomo Molibeli, says they have recovered about M41 million out of the M49, 5 million looted from the Ministry of Finance in recent months.

To date, nine people have been charged with fraud and money laundering in connection with the looting of the money.

These are Lehlohonolo Selate, Ntšeliseng Lawrence, Mookho Rafono, Tlali Mokoaleli, Thabang Nkoe, Hlabathe Phafoli, Thithili Makhesi, Maqoboto Lepolesa and Fako Molefe. They have all appeared before Chief Magistrate ‘Matankiso Nthunya who released them on M5000 bail and M100 000 surety each.

Addressing the media in Maseru this week, Commissioner Molibeli said police investigations into the matter were at an advanced stage. So far, M41 million had been recovered in cash and assets acquired from the proceeds of the crime, he said.

“I just want to report that the investigations are at advanced stage and there are nine people who have appeared in court,” Commissioner Molibeli said.

“The money and assets that have been recovered are worth M41 million. The M41 million is inclusive of liquid cash and assets such as cars and land. Investigations are ongoing. The police, the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA) are all working together to ensure that the investigations are thoroughly done.

“We are grateful to South Africa for the good working relations which have helped recover this money. However, the biggest challenge is that of preventing such crimes,” he said.

On his part, Senior Superintendent, Piti Khutlang, who is investigating the matter, said, “the liquid cash that we have so far recovered is M37 995 388, 21 and the assets that include houses, land and cars amount to M3 964 332, 18.

“Some of the money is being held in bank accounts which have been frozen while some of it had been used to purchase properties in South Africa.

“There are procedures that are being followed to ensure that the monies held in the South African banks are handed back to Lesotho,” SSP Khutlang said.

According to the charge sheet, the nine suspects defrauded the government of M49 497 972, 72 “by purporting to pay for services rendered to the government whereas it was for their own personal gain”.

“Upon or about the period between October 2020 and September 2021 in the Maseru district, the said accused persons did unlawfully and with the intent to defraud, misrepresent to the Central Bank of Lesotho and the Ministry of Finance.

“The Ministry of Finance had authorised the transfer of M49 497 972,72 from the expenditure account to different companies’ accounts held by Nivana Holdings Pty Ltd, Traggulogy Pty Ltd, Stone Curlew Holdings Pty Ltd, Sunny Penny Pty Ltd, Victorious General Dealer, Moletsima General Dealer, Hazel Nuts General Dealer and Plexus Suppliers Pty Ltd.

“The accused were not the proper and lawful beneficiaries to the said funds and they knew at all material times that they had made representations which were false. By means of the said misrepresentation, the accused persons prejudiced the parties (government and rightful beneficiaries) to the amount of M49 497 972, 72.

“Therefore, the accused persons are guilty of the crimes of fraud and money laundering,” the charge sheet states.

Prominent lawyer, Rethabile Setlojoane, was supposed to be joined to the case. This after receiving a M100 000 payment from his client, Selate, who is among the accused. However, Adv Setlojoane’s legal representatives, Salemane Phafane and Qhalehang Letsika argued that he could not be joined to the accused for simply receiving money from a client who is an accused person. He was therefore not charged and granted leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court to stop the state from joining him to the list of accused.

However, this did not stop the police from obtaining a court order to freeze Adv Setlojoane’s Standard Lesotho Bank Account, along with some assets belonging to the other accused persons. He has since launched a High Court application to nullify the 13 October 2021 order which blocked his account. The application is yet to be heard.

The DCEO successfully petitioned the High Court for an order to seize property of some of the accused persons. These include M200 000 cash held at Boliba Savings and Credit by Ms Lawrence, M179 086 from Adv Setlojoane’s bank account, M100 000 held at Standard Lesotho Bank belonging to Plexus Suppliers, M50 000 held at Nedbank Lesotho by Thabo Matlali, M43 000 held at Standard Lesotho Bank by Montessori International School and M40 000 held at FNB Lesotho by Mojela Rafono.

Other seized assets are a Hyundai Station Wagon vehicle, a VW Polo, a 2004 Honda Elysion, a 2006 Honda Elysion, an Audi A7 Quattro S-line, an Audi A4 hatchback, an OPPO Mobile phone, an iPad 32G and immovable property situated at Ha-Thetsane.

The post M41 million recovered from fraud suspects: Molibeli appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Pascalinah Kabi

THE Lesotho Millennium Development Agency (LMDA) is broke and owes its suppliers millions of maloti.

The LMDA was established by the government to oversee the implementation of development projects funded by the United States’ Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

LMDA CEO Keketso Chalatse confirmed that the agency was broke in an interview with the Lesotho Times this week.

Mr Chalatse said although they recently received about M16 million from the government this was grossly inadequate and they still needed about M40 million more to fully settle their debts.

He said this in response to allegations that the agency had not been paying its suppliers for the past six months. The agency is also said to be negotiating with the service providers to lower their rates to enable it to curb its spending and help it meet its financial obligations.

“The honest truth is that we are struggling to meet our financial obligations and unable to pay service providers,” Mr Chalatse said.

“This is because we are the implementers and there is a funder which is the government of Lesotho. It looks like the government is struggling in terms of finances. We have been struggling since January 2021 and things got really tough at the beginning of the current financial year which started in April.”

Mr Chalatse said they needed about M40 million to pay outstanding debts to suppliers.

“We are talking about M40 million. This is the amount of money that is supposed to be paid to suppliers who have already completed their assignments. They have submitted invoices which have been approved by the LMDA and we have agreed to pay them that amount.

“I must acknowledge that we were recently given money, about M16 million last week, and we had to give each one of the suppliers a small amount as payment just to try and ensure that everyone is taken care of. I must say that our contractors are not violent, they are always willing to come to the table and discuss issues.”

Mr Chalatse said they had communicated their plight to Finance Minister, Thabo Sophonea, his principal secretary Nthoateng Lebona as well as health ministry officials. These had in turn informed the LMDA that the government was also struggling to meet its financial obligations.

“We were informed that things were not easy and all government ministries were facing financial constraints.

“Last week we met the contractors supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) to explain the situation we are faced with. Two weeks ago, we met those who provide security. They had come to seek clarification and I told them the same things that I’m telling you now. Honestly, it looks like the well is drying up.

“We have contractors providing security services at our clinics. With the growing number of killings, people are scared but when there are security officers, the nurses feel safe to wake up in the middle of the night and attend to pregnant women and other patients. But the current situation is that the contractors have not been paid for months and a security officer is unlikely to go to work. Anything can happen when an employee is not paid. Now, you can imagine the nurses’ fear when there is no security at the clinics.

“We also provide meals for patients at the clinics but you can imagine what it must be like when there is no money. The caterer is forced to buy all the ingredients with their monies and we pay them at the end of the month. Now that we have not paid them for months, you can imagine what they are feeding the patients,” Mr Chalatse said.

He said it was now difficult for them to insist on quality services from the contractors as they had not paid them.

He said the only way out of their predicament was for the government to cut back on its spending in non-critical sectors and prioritise institutions like the LMDA which were operating in critical sectors.

The post LMDA broke, owes suppliers M40 million appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Pascalinah Kabi

EMBATTLED Police Commissioner, Holomo Molibeli, insists he is the right man to continue leading the police service.

This is despite the widespread calls for his ouster by the Lesotho Mounted Police Service Staff Association (LEPOSA) and other sections of society over the alleged deterioration of policing standards under his watch and an alarming increase in crime, particularly brutal murders.

LEPOSA has been fighting for Commissioner Molibeli’s dismissal for the past two years. The police union accuses him of bias and ineptitude in handling police issues. It alleges that since taking charge in August 2017, he has unprocedurally promoted his close allies like Deputy Police Commissioners (DCPs) Paseka Mokete and Beleme Lebajoa. The police union also accuses Commissioner Molibeli of allowing his blue-eyed subordinates to get away with acts of brutality against civilians which have been heavy criticised by the judiciary and resulted in the awarding of unprecedented hefty damages amounts to victims by the High Court and Court of Appeal.

The union’s latest bone of contention with the police boss is over his incompetence which resulted in the theft of at least 75 guns from the Mafeteng Police Station. The guns, which were stolen a fortnight ago, were allegedly sold to Famo gangsters who have been blamed for the rampant killings of people in Lesotho and neighbouring South Africa.

LEPOSA blames Commissioner Molibeli for the “disappointing” theft of the weapons which police investigators and the Police and Public Safety Minister, Lepota Sekola, believe was an inside job. In a weekend statement, the militant police union said the Mafeteng debacle and a subsequent attempted break-in at the Hlotse Police Station armoury had both “eroded public confidence in the police force”.

Such incidents were due to Commissioner Molibeli’s incompetence and would not have happened had Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro heeded its call to fire Commissioner Molibeli, LEPOSA said.

Well-placed sources have since told the Lesotho Times that Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro and his deputy, Mathibeli Mokhothu, have agreed to fire Commissioner Molibeli.

But despite all this, Commissioner Molibeli cut a defiant figure at this week’s press conference in Maseru. The press conference had been called to address various issues including the theft of the guns and the alleged theft of M49, 5 million by staffers in the Ministry of Finance.

Commissioner Molibeli told journalists that he was still fit and proper to hold office and he would only go “when the appointing authority decided otherwise”.

He said those blaming him for theft of the guns were “attention seekers who had never received any praise in their childhood”.

He said those calling for his ouster should similarly demand the sacking of the “person in charge of the ministry” that lost about M49, 5 million to fraudsters.

This was in reference to Finance Minister, Thabo Sophonea, who recently revealed that some of his staffers had allegedly been involved in fraud and money laundering activities which had prejudiced the government of M49 497 972, 72. The matter is pending before the courts.

Addressing the media, Commissioner Molibeli, said, “you asked if I am fit to continue leading and the answer is that I am fit.

“The appointing authority is the one which should say when it feels I’m no longer fit. I have heard these statements that I am not fit (to lead the LMPS). Are you honestly saying that when a gun is lost in Mafeteng, I am the one responsible for the loss? When livestock go missing from police custody in Mokhotlong, am I the one responsible for that loss? No. The answer is no.

“If that was the case, then even the responsible person at that ministry where the money disappeared is not fit. Isn’t that so? These issues are being raised by attention seekers. They want attention because they were never praised when they were young,” he said.

He also accused the media of making issues out of “non-issues” by publicising the World Population Review’s 2021 report which placed Lesotho at the top of its homicide rankings for Africa and sixth globally. He said although the report was published this year, it had made use of outdated 2016 data on Lesotho. The situation could have changed since then he said.

“I don’t know if you are aware of this but one of the things that offend us is that people can make issues out of non-issues. For example, there is this issue that Lesotho is a certain number in the world in terms of murder statistics. Those who conducted that study did so in 2017, using 2016 data and only published the study in 2021. I request that you closely interrogate these issues. We are too ready to admit negative things about our country. It is important to be philosophical when dealing with issues and we should not be too ready to accept (negative things about Lesotho),” he said.

But as he was belittling the World Population Review’s report, a French Pastor, Francois Snyman, was being murdered in Semonkong in front of his wife and children, the latest in a series of gruesome murders that have seen even police officers themselves becoming targets. Seven police officers were killed in a short space of three months between June and August 2021.

Commissioner Molibeli also denied allegations of bad blood between him and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Beleme Lebajoa, saying these were being peddled by people bent on fomenting instability in the force.

“People say a lot of things and we should not take it as the gospel truth just because it has been said. I started working with Ntate Beleme Lebajoa years ago in Koro-Koro and this is not my first time working with him here (police headquarters in Maseru). I was accused of making him jump ranks by promoting him from the position of Inspector to ACP (Assistant Commissioner of Police) and today when people want to divide us, they say Lebajoa is going to overthrow you.

“Are you happy to have an unstable police service? It is not in your best interests to have an unstable police service because its performance will be poor when the command is always suspicious of each other.

“You know that a journalist (presumably former Lesotho Times editor Llyod Mutungamiri) has been shot before and this required a strong police service to deal with the crime. This means that the country needs a strong police force to prevent crime. It is therefore not in your best interests to have an unstable police service. You need strong police force which will urgently fight crime by arresting and taking suspects to the courts of law,” Commissioner Molibeli said.

He called on media houses to desist from talking to LEPOSA spokesperson, Motlatsi Mofokeng, as he had been fired from the force earlier this year. Mr Mofokeng was fired for allegedly concealing information about his alleged criminal conviction before he was recruited into the force.

Commissioner Molibeli also pleaded for the media’s cooperation, saying it had helped them address various issues including police brutality.

“At times I see you giving the LEPOSA spokesperson a platform despite the fact that he is no longer a police officer. He was dismissed from the police force but you give him the platform to continue to cause confusion in the police service. Please take this advice not to give him space. Our country is unstable ladies and gentlemen and we will not be happy for it to become the likes of the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo).

“This is a special request to you. You (media) and I can take Lesotho out of the state that it is currently in. You assisted me a lot and we dealt with police brutality. You helped me a lot because that criticism built us. We are pleading with you to stop with the negative criticisms which don’t build us in any way.

“We are looking for the stolen guns and we must help each other. Let us condemn this theft. Let us refrain from discouraging those looking for them (guns), let us support them. I want to take you into my confidence and stress that there are police officers who work very hard. We just need to pat them on the shoulder and say well done. We should not create an impression that they are all the same bad apples,” he said.

The post Defiant Molibeli insists he is the right man to lead LMPS appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Pascalinah Kabi | Mohalenyane Phakela

PRIME Minister Moeketsi Majoro and his deputy, Mathibeli Mokhothu, are said to have agreed to fire Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli.

Authoritative government sources said Dr Majoro and Mr Mokhothu met last week with Police and Public Safety Minister, Lepota Sekola, and agreed that Commissioner Molibeli must be relieved of his duties for incompetence.

One of the sources, said Commissioner Molibeli’s fate had been discussed in four cabinet meetings in the wake of the widespread outcry over police brutality against citizens, rampant killings as well as the generally high crime rate in the country. Agreement had been reached to dismiss him.

“Dr Majoro called the deputy prime minister last week on Tuesday after the cabinet meeting and they agreed that it was time to let Commissioner Molibeli go,” said a cabinet minister who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak on the matter.

“He (Majoro) said the time had come for them to advise His Majesty of their decision to fire the commissioner. Unlike in the past when Dr Majoro wanted the commissioner to be given a soft landing via a redeployment to a foreign mission, he now agrees that Ntate Molibeli should just go home in the best interests of Basotho.

“We have discussed commissioner Molibeli’s future in four cabinet meetings. Even last week we talked about the issue. All these discussions were triggered by intelligence reports from the NSS. It has taken long to reach a decision to fire him because we didn’t want a repeat of Ntate Thabane’s unsuccessful bid to dismiss him. This is why Sekola was asked to consult his ministry’s legal department for advice on the issue.”

The source was referring to Mr Thabane’s failed bid to fire Commissioner Molibeli early last year. LEPOSA had petitioned him to get rid of the police boss for his alleged maladministration of the police force.

Mr Thabane did in fact fire Commissioner Molibeli only for his decision to be overturned by the High Court early last year on the grounds that it was unprocedural. Commissioner Molibeli successfully pleaded that the real reason for the purported dismissal was because he was investigating the premier for the murder of his ex-wife and he was just using the LEPOSA and other issues as a ruse.   LEPOSA renewed its quest to have him dismissed when Dr Majoro replaced Mr Thabane who had been forced to step down by his own All Basotho Convention (ABC) party in May 2020 over allegations that he plotted the murder of his ex-wife, Lipolelo.

However, Dr Majoro, who replaced Mr Thabane refused to fire the police boss, saying there were no credible grounds to do so. LEPOSA even accused the Majoro administration of siding with Commissioner Molibeli and refusing to fire him because it is “indebted” to him for allegedly helping them to bring down Mr Thabane’s government last year.

Another source said Minister Sekola had told his ministry’s legal team to prepare a “watertight” case against Commissioner Molibeli. The source said the minister and the legal team subsequently agreed that they had enough ammunition in the form of NSS reports and a report by the Development for Peace Education (DPE) which placed Commissioner Molibeli “at the centre of the continued instability in the police force.

“The DPE report showed that most of the people interviewed by the human rights organisation had called for the sacking of Commissioner Molibeli over his alleged incompetence. We expect that Ntate Majoro and Ntate Mokhothu will request a meeting with the King anytime from now to inform him of their decision to fire Commissioner Molibeli,” said the source.

The source said that Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Beleme Lebajoa and Senior Superintendent Teboho Masaile were the frontrunners to replace Commissioner Molibeli.

Dr Majoro’s press attaché, Buta Moseme, said he could not comment on the issue as he was “on sick leave”. He referred all questions to Minister Sekola

Efforts to get a comment from Mr Sekola failed. He initially said he could not talk because his phone’s signal was poor because he was travelling. Later on, his phone was answered by someone who claimed to be his bodyguard. The man said the minister was in a meeting. Yesterday, his phone rang unanswered.

NSS Director General, Pheello Ralenkoane, denied that they had submitted an intelligence report placing Commissioner Molibeli at the centre of the instability in the police force.

He said they did not compile reports on their counterparts in the security agencies. “It is not true that we compiled such a report. Those are fabrications. It is not the responsibility of the NSS to deal with a sister institution,” Mr Ralenkoane said.

DPE boss, Sofonea Shale, was unreachable on his mobile phone.

On his part, DPE Education Researcher, Lemohang Molibeli, said he was not aware of any report his organisation may have submitted to the authorities. He said Mr Shale was best placed to say if such a report had been submitted to the government.

However, the government sources insisted that Dr Majoro and Mr Mokhothu had agreed that Commissioner Molibeli had to go.

Mr Mokhothu’s Democratic Congress (DC) has never been a fan of the police boss. Before joining the government, the DC and other opposition parties had spoken out against his appointment by Mr Thabane’s administration in 2017.

The opposition had alleged that Commissioner Molibeli and other heads of state institutions like NSS boss Ralenkoane had been appointed on partisan grounds.

Earlier this year, some DC sources told this publication that they were lobbying for Commissioner Molibeli’s dismissal in exchange for their continued support for Dr Majoro. This after his support base within his own ABC had been weakened by the April 2021 split which saw former deputy leader, Nqosa Mahao, dump the party to form his own Basotho Action Party (BAP).

Professor Mahao left with nine ABC legislators. Mokhotlong MP, Tefo Mapesela, also left to form his Basotho Patriotic Party (BPP).

Should Commissioner Molibeli be fired, this would bring to an end a four-year tenure which has been marred by allegations of ineptitude, particularly the failure to deal with police brutality against ordinary citizens.

Just last week, Commissioner Molibeli came under fire after 75 guns were stolen from the Mafeteng Police Station armoury. LEPOSA seized on the incident, saying it vindicated its longstanding demand for him to be fired. But the police chief has cut a defiant figure, saying he remains the right man to lead the police force. (See story below).

The post Molibeli faces axe appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Limpho Sello

the National AIDS Commission (NAC) and Limkokwing University of Creative Technology yesterday jointly launched the Southern African Development Community (SADC) technology-based HIV prevention for youth project.

The project will run simultaneously in Limkokwing campuses in Botswana, eSwatini and Lesotho. It is meant to popularise the use of technology for HIV prevention interventions among youths in the three countries.

The said countries have a high prevalence of HIV, with Lesotho leading in infections among the 15 to 24 years age group. In all three countries, the pandemic is still distinctly gendered, with a greater toll on young women than on men, according to Limkokwing Lesotho Vice Chancellor, Advocate Tefo Macheli.

Adv Macheli yesterday said HIV prevalence among local young people aged 15 to 24 years had declined from 9, 6 percent in 2014 to 7, 2 percent in 2017. However, patterns showed that there was a likelihood of sexual relations between young women from that age group and older men.

Therefore, this necessitated the technological interventions to increase the young women’s power to negotiate safe sex.

“There are heightened challenges for girls and women in these relationships regarding condom use, negotiation of safer sex and overall power dynamics in age-disparate relationships,” Adv Macheli said.

The NACs and university campuses will be capacitated to use new and emerging information and communication technology to deliver HIV prevention messages to the primary target, adolescents and young people aged 15 to 24 years, he said.

“It is envisioned that each country will establish eight partnerships to support referral and outreach HIV services for young people. Twenty-four partnerships are planned throughout the project.

“Activities will include the creation of online applications by youths, boot camps where youths will come up with short films and documentaries to share with their peers, youth and TV, radio shows amongst other deliverables. The first part of the project will last for two years before review,” Adv Macheli said.

On her part, NAC chief executive officer, Mamello Letsie, said the project would expand and complement the already existing HIV prevention programmes for young people.

“(It will) bridge the gap between the young and the old through the use of digital platforms for programming.

“The project is structured in such a way that it will be easily replicable in all three countries and beyond and further promote coordination and cooperation between the three countries HIV programmes,” Ms Letsie said.

The launch was also in line with the upcoming World AIDS Day commemorations on 1 December, she said. It will be celebrated under the theme: “Ending Inequality. Ending AIDS. Ending Pandemics.”

The post NAC, Limkokwing launch tech-based HIV intervention for youths appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Mohalenyane Phakela

THE Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has finally renewed Zimbabwean judge, Charles Hungwe’s contract.

JSC secretary, ‘Mathato Sekoai yesterday confirmed the development, saying the contract had been extended to 28 February 2022.  This clears the way for him to continue presiding over the high-profile trials of politicians, serving and former members of the security agencies.

“Justice Hungwe’s contract has been renewed until 28 February 2022,” Advocate Sekoai said in a brief interview with the Lesotho Times.

She was responding to our inquiries following Justice Hungwe’s appearance in court on Monday. There had been no official communication as to whether his contract had been renewed or not.

His availability to preside over the trials had been thrown into doubt after the 31 October 2021 expiry of his contract.

But he showed up on Monday and proceeded to set down the hearing dates for the various cases that he is presiding over.

He said he will today preside over Senior Superintendent Thabo Tsukulu and three other police officers’ trial for the March 2016 murder of Police Constable (PC) Mokalekale Khetheng. Senior Supt Tsukulu’s co-accused are Inspector Mathibeli Mofolo, Senior Inspector Mabitle Matona and Sub-Inspector Haleokoe Taasoane.

Justice Hungwe said he would on Monday set the dates for the continuation of former army commander, Tlali Kamoli’s separate murder and attempted murder trials.

Lieutenant General (Lt-Gen) Kamoli is accused of the June 2015 murder of army commander, Maaparankoe Mahao.

His co-accused are Captain Litekanyo Nyakane, Captain Haleo Makara, Sergeant Lekhooa Moepi, Sergeant Motsamai Fako, Corporal Marasi ‘Moleli, Corporal Motšoane Machai, Corporal Mohlalefi Seitlheko and Corporal Tšitso Ramoholi.

Former Director of Military Intelligence, Lieutenant Colonel Tumo Lekhooa, is also an accused in the Mahao murder case but he has never appeared in court after he fled the country in 2017.

In another case, Lt-Gen Kamoli and four other soldiers are accused of attempted murder over the January 2014 simultaneous bombings of the houses of former First Lady, ‘Maesaiah Thabane, and former Police Commissioner, Khothatso Tšooana.

Lt-Gen Kamoli’s co-accused in that case are Major Pitso Ramoepane, Captain Litekanyo Nyakane, Sergeant Malefane Heqoa and Corporal Mohlalefi Seitlheko.

“These matters are postponed to 22 November 2021 in order to set dates for the continuation of the trials,” Justice Hungwe said.

Before that, Justice Hungwe had refused to answer a question from one of the defence lawyers, Karabo Mohau, who had asked if the judge’s contract had been renewed.

“We read in the newspapers that His Lordship’s contract had expired so I wanted to find out the position of his Lordship regarding the issue,” Adv Mohau said.

In reply, Justice Hungwe said the question should be directed to the JSC.

“Let us not go by the newspapers please. That is an administrative issue and if you want clarity, you should approach the JSC regarding the matter,” Justice Hungwe said.

Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane, who chairs the JSC which recruited Justice Hungwe in 2019, had blamed the government for failing to provide the funds to continue paying his salary. Law and Justice Minister, Lekhetho Rakuoane, subsequently washed his hands off the matter, saying it was up to the JSC and the European Union (EU) to resolve the matter. The EU is responsible for paying Justice Hungwe’s salary and it has said it stands ready to continue paying him until he has finalised all the cases before him.

Yesterday, Minister Rakuoane said although the JSC had not informed him of the latest developments regarding Justice Hungwe’s situation, he nevertheless welcomed the fact that the judge had resumed his duties.

The post Hungwe contract extended appeared first on Lesotho Times.

• suggests she is responsible for the “suspicious” deaths of state witnesses in her murder trial,
• insists she ought to be in remand prison and should never have been granted bail  

Staff Reporters

DEPUTY Commissioner of Police (DCP), Paseka Mokete, says that “several witnesses” have died under “suspicious” and “controversial circumstances” in the wake of the High Court’s June 2020 decision to grant bail to murder-accused former First Lady, ‘Maesaiah Thabane.

DCP Mokete says more than 17 months later, the police are still baffled by the High Court’s decision to grant her bail as it has still not provided a written judgement detailing its reasons for rejecting demands that she remains incarcerated. The police had vigorously opposed bail, arguing the former First Lady would harm witnesses. But the High Court disagreed and released her on bail.

‘Maesaiah now wants her bail conditions relaxed but the police are vigorously opposing her latest bid.

DCP Mokete – in court papers detailing the police’s opposition – argues that any relaxation of her bail conditions would be catastrophic because the former First Lady is not only a flight risk but is likely to interfere with state witnesses and even endanger their lives.

Ms Thabane has been charged with the 14 June 2017 murder of her husband Thomas Thabane’s ex-wife, Lipolelo.

She has also been charged with the attempted murder of Thato Sibolla, with whom Lipolelo had been travelling, when she was gunned down in cold blood at Ha ‘Masana, Maseru.

Ms Sibolla sustained some injuries in the shooting incident which occurred just two days before Mr Thabane’s inauguration for his second stint as premier.

Ms Thabane was initially granted bail by then acting Chief Justice ‘Maseforo Mahase on 5 February 2020 but this was revoked by the Court of Appeal on 29 May 2020 after Ms Sibolla and Mr Thabane’s grandson, Thomas Thabane Jr argued that it was unprocedurally granted.

She launched a fresh application after she was jailed following the revocation of her bail. Her second and ultimately successful application was heard by the now deceased Judge Thamsanqa Nomngcongo.

In granting her bail in June 2020, Justice Nomngcongo said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Hlalefang Motinyane, had failed to exercise her constitutional right to oppose the bail. He said DCP Mokete, who deposited an application on behalf of DPP Motinyane, had no right to do so.

In a potentially huge setback to the state case, Justice Nomngcongo said DCP Mokete and other witnesses’ affidavits were full of hearsay allegations. He also said Ms Sibolla, who had also filed an affidavit in support of DCP Mokete, had failed to link ‘Maesaiah and Mr Thabane to the crime.  Justice Nomngcongo came under fire on social media for his judgment with suggestions he had been inspired by ulterior motives in his obiter remarks which some viewed as belittling a heinous case of murder.

Mr Thabane has been slapped with the same murder charges but he is yet to plead, with the police and DPP Motinyane blaming each other for the lengthy delay.  Mr Thabane initially appeared in court in February 2020 but was not asked to plead. His lawyer, Qhalehang Letsika, raised a constitutional issue that Mr Thabane was immune from prosecution as long as he remained prime minister.   Magistrate Phethise Motanyane then referred the matter to the Constitutional Court for adjudication. But Mr Thabane and his lawyers never filed the Constitutional Court application.

Mr Thabane was then forced to resign as prime minister by his party in May 2020, with a powerful faction of his All Basotho Convention (ABC) then led by Professor Nqosa Mahao arguing that the country could not be ruled by a murder suspect.

Rumours spread after Mr Thabane’s resignation that he would be arrested as his constitutional argument had become moot.  Mr Thabane himself had predicted at a function at his house on 6 July 2020 that he was facing imminent arrest. However, that never happened with DCP Mokete saying he was “tying loose ends” before arresting Mr Thabane and taking him to court. That too did not happen. Since then, the police and the DPP’s office have been blaming each other with the police saying they while they had done their part and the DPP’s office was still not taking action. The DPP has lately not explained why she has not moved against the premier but at one stage, she too blamed the police for the delay, saying they had failed to cooperate with her on the matter, an allegation denied by the police.

Unconfirmed reports allege that the DPP had been persuaded by Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro not to prosecute Mr Thabane because Dr Majoro is scared of alienating Mr Thabane’s supporters within the ABC as the current premier moves to consolidate his own position within the party and country ahead of elections next year.  Dr Majoro has not commented on these allegations.

Justice Nomngcongo had seized upon the police’s failure to arrest and charge Mr Thabane as an indication that they had no solid case against the ex-premier. The judge accused the police of “dropping” the ex-premier’s name in to the case “just for drama” in remarks that elicited more public criticism.

Ms Thabane is currently out on M10 000 bail and her bail conditions stipulate that she must report to the police every fortnight, notify them whenever she intends to travel outside the country, refrain from interfering with state witnesses and stand trial to finality.

She now feels the bail conditions are cumbersome and wants the court to order that she must stop reporting to the police every two weeks. She also wants the court to do away with the requirement for her to notify the police whenever she intends to travel outside the country. She says the requirements are “meaningless” and unnecessary as she has demonstrated over the past 17 months that she is not a flight risk and can be trusted to stand trial to finality.

Despite the seriousness of the charges she is facing, Ms Thabane has seemingly found a lighter side to her ordeal. She states that her bail papers are now full of police stamps and even the police are now “tired” of the sight of her continually reporting to them.

“Your petitioner and her husband have fixed properties in Lesotho and they are on pension and enjoying old age together with no intention of whatsoever to relocate for any reason whatsoever,” ‘Maesaiah, who is aged 42 and is 40 years her husband’s junior, states in her court papers.

“Your petitioner was on or about the 29^th June 2020, a full year and five months ago, admitted to bail by this Honourable Court on the conditions as appears in the bail bond. Your petitioner has for the entire period aforementioned complied with all the bail conditions imposed on her. Notably she has been reporting to the police every fortnight. This reporting has become not only meaningless but extremely tedious not only to your petitioner but to the police as well.

“The police understandably are tired of seeing her and having to stamp her bail bond which is now full of stamps and they say so every time she reports. It has been stamped over 30 times. This means she has been to the police over 30 times for one and the same thing. Just like the police, she is tired and it is now evident that the reporting no longer serves any meaningful purpose as it is clear that she is here and here to stay.”

Ms Thabane pleads for a relaxation of the bail conditions, arguing that she has demonstrated beyond any shadow of doubt that she is willing and prepared to stand trial to finality.

“In the premises and on the facts, your petitioner avers that whenever required or summoned to come to court, she will do so and this is thus a proper case in which the bail conditions ought to be varied.

She then asks the court to vary her bail conditions to state that “… the petitioner shall be summoned to appear in court whenever the crown will be ready to proceed with the trial”.

This has however, not gone down well with DCP Mokete who foresees an “imminent danger” in relaxing Ms Thabane’s bail conditions.

He then suggests that she has been responsible for the deaths of some of the witnesses in the murder case after she was granted bail.  He does not say which of the witnesses have died. However, one of the key suspects, Famo musician, Rethabile Mokete, popularly known as Mosotho Chakela, died early this year after a short illness. He died in South Africa.

Chakela had become a wanted man after being named as one of the key suspects in the Lipolelo murder. He was named alongside fellow Famo musicians Seabata Sello, Macheli Koeshe, Molefi Matima and Sarele Sello.  Sarele has since turned into a state witness.

According to court papers filed in the High Court last year by DCP Mokete, Chakela was one of the hitmen who were allegedly hired by Ms Thabane and her husband to kill Lipolelo.

The Thabane couple allegedly promised to pay Lipolelo’s killers a staggering M3 million to get the job done, DCP Mokete claimed in his court papers.

They had allegedly only paid the killers M400 000 when the allegations against them blew up earlier in 2020.

In his latest court papers filed last week, DCP Mokete insists that Ms Thabane’s bail conditions should not be relaxed as they have enabled the police to keep an eye on an “exceptional” suspect who he insists should never have been granted bail in the first place.

“In view of the nature of the charges that the applicant (‘Maesaiah) faces…, I had projected the view that she was not supposed to get the bail in the first place. As it turned out, this Honourable Court overruled my opposition and admitted her to bail but there are no written reasons for the judgment to date,” DCP Mokete states in his court papers.

He argues the police were unhappy with the initial February 2020 decision by Justice Mahase to grant Ms Thabane bail hence why they challenged it in the Court of Appeal.

The police were not the only ones who were baffled by the High Court decision to award Ms Thabane bail, DCP Mokete states.

“One of the key witnesses, Ms Thato Sibolla publicly took an interview with Sophie Mokoena of SABC and expressed her concerns and frustrations about the decision to release the applicant on bail.

“I am going to apply for leave of this Honourable Court to play the televised interview of Ms Thato Sibolla on the hearing date so that this Honourable Court can take a peek about the perspective of victims in respect of the decision it took to grant the bail application (sic). It is only fair to demonstrate that the applicant was admitted to bail under circumstances which remain obscure to date.

“This then warranted the victims of the crime to approach the Court of Appeal to review the decision in a matter that culminated in the case registered under Thomas Motsoahae Thabane & 3 Others v Her Ladyship ‘Maseforo Mahase ACJ & 4 others C of A (CRI REV) NO.2/2020.

“I filed a supporting affidavit in this matter and my version was set in sufficient factual context to convey disapproval of the decision to grant the applicant bail in acceptable detail. The decision of this Honourable Court to grant bail was reviewed and set aside and the petition was referred back to this Honourable Court to be determined by a different judge,” DCP Mokete said.

He argues that the apex court judgement confirmed his views that Ms Thabane remained a flight risk as she had initially skipped the country when it had become apparent that the police wanted to arrest her and charge her with Lipolelo’s murder in January 2020. He said she only returned and was arrested in early February 2020 when it had become clear that the net was closing in on her.

“The reading of the aforesaid (Court of Appeal) judgement confirms that the applicant is an exceptional character whose conditions of bail have to curb the risks of flight and evidence tempering. The central point is that this Honourable Court had the benefit of reading the aforesaid judgment when it fixed the bail conditions. The bail application was opposed.

“In my considered view, it is respectfully suggested that this present case is an abuse of court’s process and it appears to me that the issues raised in this application are trial issues which applicant seeks to have decided in advance of and outside of the trial. This is a relevant consideration for the safety of the state witnesses against imminent danger that may result from the relaxed bail conditions of the applicant.  I have formed an opinion that owing to possible interference or intimidation of crown witnesses, it is risky that the bail conditions of applicant be relaxed.

“As will be seen in the trial, many state witnesses have since passed away under controversial circumstances after the applicant had been released on bail. In all the circumstances, the element of potential prejudice as articulated in the views of Ms Sibolla is very material to the opinion that the police have formed about the suspicious deaths of witnesses to pervert the course of justice.

“In my experience as an investigator and from a practical and common-sense point of view and bearing in mind details surrounding the death of Mrs Lipolelo Thabane, relaxing the bail conditions simply serves to boost the ego of the applicant.

“I must confirm that there is no proof that the police are tired of monitoring compliance with the bail conditions of applicant. It is their duty to do so. In any event, I supervised compliance of the applicant with the bail conditions…and I confirm that her reporting to the police in terms of scheduled periods serves a meaningful purpose of oversight,” DCP Mokete argues.

DCP Mokete is not alone in raising concerns about High court judges’ failure to provide written judgements detailing the reasons for their verdicts. Even the Court of Appeal has repeatedly slammed the judges, saying without written judgements they were unable to hear appeals and make informed decisions.

During her tenure as acting chief justice, Judge Mahase specifically complained about Justice Nomngcongo’s alleged failure to issue written judgments.

At the time, she said she was even contemplating disciplinary action against the now deceased judge.

The police accuse Mr Thabane and his wife of plotting the murder of Lipolelo to smoothen ‘Maesaiah’s path to become First Lady.  Lipolelo had been estranged from Mr Thabane but she had won the right to be recognised as the real First Lady because her long running divorce case with Mr Thabane had not been finalised.

Lipolelo was then murdered on the eve of Mr Thabane’s inauguration for his second stint as Prime Minister. The police insist the only motive for her murder was to pave way for the “impatient” ‘Maesaiah to become First Lady as the courts had declared that only Lipolelo qualified for benefits of that position. With divorce cases generally taking a long time to conclude in Lesotho, ‘Maesaiah is accused of having opted for the “quickest” and “easiest” way out in eliminating Lipolelo.

But the former First Lady vigorously denies the allegations which came to light when police commissioner wrote to Mr Thabane asking him to explain why his cellphone number had allegedly been used in communications detected during the commission of the crime.   Mr Thabane had then tried to fire Commissioner Molibeli but the latter was saved by the courts.

If her husband’s phone had been used during the commission of the crime, then it was the duty of the husband to answer for that and not her, Ms Thabane has argued in her defence.

Mr Thabane denies the allegations which transfixed the world when they were first made. In a previous interview with the Lesotho Times, the ex- prime minister said he and his younger third wife had not plotted the assassination because “we don’t kill people”.  His declaration of innocence was however not enough to help him keep his job as prime minister. He however remains ABC leader, thanks to the never-ending factionalism in the ABC.  Sources say Mr Thabane will cling on until he has secured the passage of his preferred successor thought to be either Samonyane Ntsekele, Lebohang Hlaele or Prince Maliehe. The ex-premier is said to be now vehemently opposed to Dr Majoro taking over from him, partly due to differences that arise from the constant squabbling in the ABC.

Authoritative sources say Mr Thabane has even enticed party deputy secretary general and agriculture minister, Nkaku Kabi, to consider succeeding him. But this is more to try and weaken Dr Majoro as the ex-premier does not fully believe in Mr Kabi’s abilities. Mr Kabi, a once powerful supporter of Mr Thabane, is described as the typical Machiavelli who plays his political game carefully and straddles all the factions though he appears more aligned to Dr Majoro’s camp.

The post Mokete drops fresh ‘Maesaiah bombshell appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Bereng Mpaki

FIFTY China Geo-Engineering Corporation (CGC) workers contracted for the construction of the Marakabei to Monontša road project have petitioned the Directorate of Dispute Prevention and Resolution (DDPR) to compel their employer to increase their salaries.

The workers want their salaries to match international standards.

They are represented by the Construction, Mining, Quarrying and Allied Workers Union (CMQ) in the dispute. They want to be paid a minimum of M5000 monthly as opposed to the M2771 which they are currently earning.

According to the papers seen by the Lesotho Times this week, CGC argues that it has not done anything wrong as it is paying its staff in line with Lesotho’s minimum wage.

CGC was in 2018 awarded the M900 million tender by the government to construct the 60-kilometre road. The road will form an international link between Lesotho and South Africa.

The road construction, which involves upgrading the dirt road to a bitumen standard, commenced in 2019 and is scheduled to be completed in 2023. The company employs an estimated 300 workers.

On Monday, 50 workers took up the matter with the DDPR, asking it to compel CGC to heed their wage demands failing which they will strike to get the government’s attention.

The DDPR is scheduled to hear the dispute on 6 December 2021. The workers intend to escalate the matter to the Labour Court if they do not get recourse from the DDPR.

Among others, the workers want wages for semi-skilled labourers to be increased from the current rate of M22 to M76 per hour.

They also want hourly the rates for technicians and machine operators to be increased from the current M22 to M97 and those of the unskilled labourers from M14 to M25 per hour. The employer must also give them new open-ended employment contracts that will end upon completion of the project.

“We propose that the fixed-term contracts should end and we (should) be given permanent contracts that will end with the completion of the project,” the workers said in their DDPR papers.

They also want to be paid transport, housing and food allowances of M1500, M1200 and M1400 per month respectively.

CMQ secretary general, Robert Mokhahlane, yesterday told this publication that as an international company, CGC should strive to match its local workers’ salaries with what it would pay workers engaged for the same work in China.

“The workers want the company to pay them no less than M5000 per month in line with the Multinational Enterprises Declaration of 1977 and its 2006 amendments. This is an International Labour Organisation (ILO) instrument which encourages multinational companies working abroad to try to maintain the same wage standards as those they pay workers back home,” Mr Mokhahlane said.

CGC’s ‘Makhabo Mokhantšo professed ignorance of the dispute before the DDPR.

“I have no comment as I do not know anything about it,” Ms Mokhantšo said.

The post Workers sue China Geo for pay rise appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Bereng Mpaki

BRICK manufacturer, Loti Brick, has temporarily laid off the majority of its 150 workers on account of crippling cashflow challenges, a company source has said.

The source this week attributed the cashflow challenges to the company’s failure to sell its products.

So bad is the situation that the company has only left skeleton staff to manage the premises and sell its inventory. The company is also considering to retrench all its workers and close shop, the source said.

Established in 1978, 73, 6 percent of the company is controlled by the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC). Its operations cover manufacturing, sales and distribution of clay brick products.

Loti Brick has the capacity to produce over a million units of high-quality clay and limited stock of plaster bricks per month. Other types of bricks manufactured at Loti Brick are paster and paver bricks.

But the relatively high price of its products and failure to market the products among other operational challenges have hampered the company’s progress.

“The company temporarily laid off the majority of its staff at the beginning of this month due to serious financial challenges,” the source said.

“We have a huge unsold inventory produced over several months and the company is failing to raise adequate revenue to run its operations. It is therefore, considering to retrench staff permanently.”

United Textile Employees (UNITE) secretary general, Solong Senohe, whose labour union has members working at Loti Brick, this week said they were exploring alternative options to manage costs with the Loti Brick management instead of retrenching.

“We are trying to convince them not to retrench the workers as that would spell doom for the retrenches given that the Lesotho job market has been shrinking in the last few months,” Mr Senohe said.

Among others, Mr Senohe said they have encouraged the company to aggressively market its products to generate the much-needed revenue.

Robert Mokhahlane, the secretary general of the Construction, Mining, Quarrying and Allied Workers Union (CMQ) confirmed that their members employed by Loti Brick were currently on temporary lay-off.

Loti Brick’s woes are not new. According to acting Auditor General (AG), Monica Besetsa, report on the audit of the government’s 2019/2020 financial statements, Loti Brick failed to settle its M12 million loan from its majority shareholder, the LNDC during the 2019/2020 financial year.

At the end of the 2019/2020 financial year, the company had an accumulated operating loss of M20 million, the audit report said.

“The company incurred a net loss of M2 183 974 for the year ended 31 March 2018 and has therefore accumulated a loss of M20 523 888. As of March 2018, the company had not paid (serviced) the LNDC’s loan of M12 599 991 for 24 months,” Ms Besetsa said.

She said Loti Brick was among the 13 parastatals that had failed to pay dividends to the government during the 2019/2020 financial year.

The company posted a M 11, 9 million loss in the 2015/16 financial year and M9, 4 million loss during the 2014/15 financial year, according to its audited financial statements.

“These events indicate a material uncertainty, which may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” Ms Besetsa said.

Earlier this year, the LNDC tried to sell the company to a private operator but failed.

Efforts to obtain comments from both Loti Brick and LNDC were unsuccessful until the time of print.

The post Loti Brick lays off workers appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Bereng Mpaki

THE National Assembly this week passed the Mines and Minerals (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which legalises artisanal and small scale (ASM) mining.

The Bill must now be okayed by the Senate before the King can approve it as a law.

The Bill was preceded by clearing off of illegal diamonds in the market through passing of the Precious Stones (Prevention of Illicit and Theft of Diamonds) Regulations, 2020 last November by the august house.

The regulations gave limited amnesty to persons in possession of undocumented diamonds to hand them over to the government to sell on their behalf, culminating in a diamond auction in May 2021.

Kimetso Mathaba, the chairperson of the parliamentary natural resources, tourism and land cluster portfolio committee which recommended the bill’s adoption, said small scale mining would play a significant role in boosting rural development.

Previously allowed in Lesotho in the past, small scale mining was outlawed by the Mines and Minerals Act, 2005.

He said the Bill sought to alleviate poverty by empowering locals to venture into mining.

“The objective of the bill is for the government to work towards recognising and repositioning the artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM) sub-sector in mining of precious stones to alleviate poverty,” Mr Mathaba said.

“The Bill seeks to remedy the lacuna in the 2005 Act where artisanal or small-scale miners of precious stones had no recognition, were not licensed or permitted to mine. The Bill therefore, seeks to include them.

“This will enable the ASM sub-sector to fulfill its potential of alleviating poverty and contributing to development, particularly in rural areas.”

The All Basotho Convention (ABC’s) Hololo legislator, Tlokotsi Manyooko, said small scale mining would facilitate local beneficiation of diamonds.

The local trading of the diamonds from small scale miners would also allow for a diamond viewing business targeting both domestic and international tourists.

Basotho Action Party (BAP) legislator for Berea, Motlatsi Maqelepo, recommended further amendments to the Mines and Minerals Act, 2005 to allow for the government to increase its shareholding in each of the country’s diamond mines to 51 percent.

The Mines and Minerals Act, 2005 dictates that the government must control a minimum of 20 percent in each of the local mines but Mr Maqelepo wants it amended. He said there was no better time than using the on-going national reforms to amend the law.

“Increasing local shareholding to 51 percent in the diamond mines would allow for increased control of our naturals resources and ensure that we play a bigger role in the industry as locals,” Mr Maqelepo said.

The government currently owns 30 percent of Letšeng Mine, 25 percent in Liqhobong, 30 percent of Mothae Mine and 25 percent of Kao Mine.

Mr Maqelepo’s sentiments were echoed by Mechechane constituency legislator, Nyapane Khaya, of the Movement for Economic Change (MEC). Mr Khaya called for the Bill to be returned to the Mining Ministry to review the current shareholding ratios.

Mr Khaya said eSwatini has increase government shareholding in the mines without necessarily increasing its equity in the mines, as has been cited to be the stumbling block for the government to increase its shareholding in mines.

On his part, Mining Minister, Serialong Qoo, said his ministry was already working on reviewing sections of the Act which deal with local shareholding as well as addressing the issue of alluvial diamonds which Lesotho losses to countries downstream the Senqu River. He said the Bill would soon be in tabled in parliament.

The Mines and Minerals (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was eventually passed after the National Assembly made minor amendments to it.

The post Parliament passes small scale mining law appeared first on Lesotho Times.

 Leemisa Thuseho

TWO badminton players and two coaches left the country this week for Gaborone where they will participate in this year’s edition of the Botswana Badminton International Tournament.

The under-23 tournament will run from today until 28 November 2021.

The Botswana Badminton Association hosts the event annually under the auspices of the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA). The tournament is returning this year after the cancellation of last year’s edition on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tournament will incorporate a seven-day joint training camp for all participating players.

Lesotho will be represented by Tebello Selemela (male) and Maria Phatsisi (female). Both are from the National University of Lesotho (NUL) team. They are coached by Nyakallo Seboka who is assisted by Refiloe Moeletsi.

The training camp at the tournament will run from 18 to 24 November while the games are scheduled for 25 to 28 November. The team will compete in both the singles and doubles category.

The trip will be fully funded by the BCA which gave Lesotho a quota of two players. The duo was selected based on its current local rankings.

Phatsisi said the opportunity was too good to miss and they were hoping to gain lots of exposure.

“I feel honoured to get this opportunity,” Phatisi said.

“The exposure will greatly benefit us. It will also benefit fellow players when we return because we will share the skills with the ultimate goal of growing the sport.”

Phatsisi and Selemela are debuting the international scene which the former will be essential in their growth.

On his part, Seboka said the event will also help the coaches enhance their skills.

“The coaches are also going to benefit from the event and I think if we make use of such opportunities, our sport can grow,” Seboka said.

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