. . . disabled persons bemoan struggles in accessing sexual reproductive health services,

. . . blame their struggles on the government’s failure to mainstream disability issues in health training.

Limpho Sello

“DISABILITY doesn’t mean the inability to have sex.

“Despite our disability, we have normal human needs like sex and like other human beings, we also want to have sex and have it in the safest possible ways which do not compromise our health.”

This is the impassioned plea from disabled persons, particularly the visually impaired, who say they constantly endure nightmares in their quest to access sexual reproductive health services across the country.

They have accused health services providers of violating their sexual reproductive health rights (SRHR) due to stereotypes and misconceptions that disabled persons have no sexual feelings and therefore cannot engage in sexual intercourse.

A member of the Lesotho National League of Visually Impaired Persons (LNLVIP), Lerato Mathaku (not her real name), said, “health professionals link our disability with being sexually inactive to an extent of denying us our rights to sexual health services”.

Ms Mathaku, a mother of a 12-year-old son, said one of her worst experiences in accessing family planning services was when a nurse at a village health centre made fun of her, saying she could not understand why she needed contraceptives.

She said due to her blindness, she was always quizzed by nurses demanding to know why she was sexually active when she was visually impaired.

“They don’t understand that I am also human and I live a normal life. I have sexual feelings and a partner despite my blindness. They think that just because I am blind, I have no feelings at all and therefore I shouldn’t be seeking contraceptives,” Ms Mathaku said.

Ms Mathaku said such stereotypes were not only embarrassing but also depressing to the disabled because the stigma prevented them from enjoying their lives and fulfilling their normal human needs for sex.

She said through persistence, some health workers now understood her needs and they now provide her with her favoured oral contraceptive pills which she religiously takes to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

The LNLVIP’s sexual reproductive health rights and African Disability Protocol Country Coordinator, Keketso Mangope, weighed in on the issue, saying health workers and communities across the country held “preconceived and misguided” notions that visually impaired persons “cannot and do not” engage in sexual activities. Thus, they encounter discrimination whenever they seek SRH services, Mr Mangope said.

“Health professionals are products of their societies and they live by the stereotypes and preconceived ideas that people with disabilities cannot be sexually active and make informed choices on reproductive issues.

“What I am saying is from the findings of a baseline study that we conducted at some of the hospitals including Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) and Makoanyane Military Hospital to ascertain if they had the expertise to provide services to visually impaired persons. We found that the expertise was lacking.

“In most cases, health professionals do not provide the required services. They treat us as victims. They ‘sympathise’ with us and utter words like, ‘who is the evil person who has impregnated a blind person?’. They fail to understand that we are normal human beings like anyone else and we have the same sexual needs as anyone else.”

Mr Mangope said nurses even advised the termination of pregnancies because of misconceptions that people with disabilities are not fit to carry pregnancies to full term and have children.

He attributed the misconceptions and consequent violations of disabled persons’ sexual reproductive health rights to the government’s failure to mainstream health disability issues in health training and provision of services.

To address these challenges, the LNLVIP has joined forces with the African Union of the Blind (AFUB) and officially launched the African Disability Protocol.

The protocol seeks to eliminate all sorts of forms of discrimination against people with disabilities. It was launched two months ago.

“Our organisation has made it a priority to sensitise nurses and other health professionals and policy makers to understand that the disabled also have a right to sexual reproductive health services. There shouldn’t be any obstacles to disabled persons accessing sexual reproductive health services at health facilities,” Mr Mangope said.

Contacted for comment, the health ministry’s Sexual Reproductive and Health Services Manager, Motsoanku Mefane, said it was unfortunate that there were healthcare services providers who still practiced discrimination when the guidelines for the provision of sexual reproductive health services were “very clear and inclusive” of the disabled community.

“The guidelines are very clear and inclusive of the disabled community. A health professional should not choose a contraceptive method for anyone including the disabled. The health worker is obliged to inform a client of all the available methods and teach them about the methods. It is then up to the client to make an informed choice about which contraceptive method to use.

“Nurses and other healthcare workers should stick to the guidelines,” Ms Mefane said, adding they were constantly engaging in capacity building to eliminate stigma and ensure everyone, including persons with disabilities, fully enjoyed their sexual reproductive health rights.

According to the last Lesotho Demographic Health Survey conducted in 2014, the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) is 60 percent. Modern contraceptive use by married women has steadily increased over the last decade, growing from 35 percent in 2004 to 46 percent in 2009 and 60 percent in 2014.

However, the survey has not categorised the disabled community in its reporting, meaning that they have been generalised and not classified as key populations in the survey findings.

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Mohalenyane Phakela

THE high-profile trials of politicians, serving and former members of the security agencies are back on track and will continue in the High Court.

This after the lead prosecutor, Shaun Abrahams, returned to work this week.

The trials had been in limbo after Advocate Abrahams had resigned in September 2021 over the government’s failure to pay his salary.

Zimbabwean Judge, Charles Hungwe, had also stopped presiding over some of the trials following the expiry of his contract on 31 October 2021.

Justice Hungwe eventually returned to work last week after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) renewed his contract.

Adv Abrahams had been conspicuous by his absence from the High Court since the end of September when he said he was stepping down due to “administrative differences” with the government.

This was merely a euphemism for the government’s failure to pay him his outstanding salaries which had accumulated to the princely sum of M9, 9 million.

The South African prosecutor was hired by the previous Thomas Thabane-led governing coalition. However, the current Moeketsi Majoro-led coalition has baulked at paying what it says is his astronomical wage bill.  Last month, Law and Justice principal secretary, Retšelisitsoe Mohale, even told the Lesotho Times that they were not happy with Adv Abrahams’ “huge wage bill” and they were mulling the termination of his contract or “reviewing it so that it best serves the interests of Basotho”.

However, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Hlalefang Motinyane, vowed to “fight tooth and nail” to retain Adv Abrahams’s services, saying it would be “highly regrettable” to let him go when he had already done a lot of work including interviewing and engaging several witnesses to testify on behalf of the state.

It now appears that DPP Motinyane has had her way after Adv Abrahams resumed his duties early this week.

Adv Abrahams has confirmed his return, saying he was back to finalise the cases he was prosecuting.

“I have accepted brief to proceed with these trials and this is purely in the interests of justice,” Adv Abrahams said in an interview with the Lesotho Times.

“I am back for all the matters I had been hired to prosecute. I am here to finalise all the cases. All I can say is the issues we had (with the government) have been resolved,” Adv Abrahams added.

Following his return to work, Adv Abrahams will tomorrow be prosecuting the case of Senior Superintendent Thabo Tsukulu and three other police officers who are accused of the March 2016 murder of Police Constable Mokalekale Khetheng. Senior Supt Tsukulu is accused alongside Senior Inspector Mothibeli Mofolo, Inspector Mabitle Matona and Sub-Inspector Haleokoe Taasoane.

Another case that Adv Abrahams is prosecuting is former army commander, Tlali Kamoli, and others’ attempted murder trial in connection with the simultaneous bombings of the houses of former First Lady ‘Maesaiah Thabane and former Commissioner of Police Khothatso Tsooana on 27 January 2014.

Lieutenant General (Lt-Gen) Kamoli’s co-accused are Major Pitso Ramoepane, Captain Litekanyo Nyakane, Sergeant Malefane Heqoa and Corporal Mohlalefi Seitlheko.

Justice Hungwe on Monday set 14 to 25 March 2022 as the trial dates for the case.

Adv Abrahams is prosecuting Lt-Gen Kamoli, Captain Nyakane, Captain Haleo Makara, Sergeant Lekhooa Moepi, Sergeant Motsamai Fako, Corporal Marasi ‘Moleli, Corporal Motšoane Machai, Corporal Mohlalefi Seitlheko, and Corporal Tšitso Ramoholi for the 25 June 2015 murder of army commander, Lt-Gen Maaparankoe Mahao.

The trial will proceed before Justice Hungwe from 24 to 28 January 2022 and 4 to 14 April 2022.

This means that Lt-Gen Kamoli and his co-accused will spend their fifth Christmas in remand prison since their 2017 arrests.

Adv Abrahams is also prosecuting other two cases before Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane and Judge Moroke Mokhesi.

The case before Justice Sakoane is the treason and murder trial of politicians Mothetjoa Metsing and Selibe Mochoboroane. They are accused alongside Lt-Gen Kamoli, Captain Nyakane as well as Lance Corporals Leutsoa Motsieloa and Motloheloa Ntsane. The case will proceed on 6 December 2021 when Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane are expected to appear in the dock alongside their fellow accused. This after the two politicians last week lost their High Court bid to stop DPP Motinyane from joining them to the case. Justice Sakoane dismissed their argument that they could not be joined to a case that was already in progress.

Justice Mokhesi is presiding over the murder trial of Brigadier Rapele Mphaki, Major Pitso Ramoepane, Sergeant Lekhooa Moepi, Captain Mahlehle Moeletsi, Lance Corporal Mahlomola Makhoali, Private Nthatakane Motanyane, Motšoane Machai, Tieho Tikiso, Liphapang Sefako and Nemase Faso.

The 10 soldiers allegedly strangled Lekhoele Noko, Molise Pakela and Khothatso Makibinyane at Setibing in rural Maseru on 16 May 2017 and dumped them in the Mohale Dam.

They allegedly kidnapped and murdered the three men after the trio had just been released from police custody where they were detained in connection with a shooting incident that occurred at the Maseru border gate on 13 May 2017

This matter has been set down for hearing on 2 February 2022.

The post High profile trials resume as Abrahams, Hungwe return appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Nthatuoa Koeshe

THE opposition Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) has accused the government of seeking to disrupt the ongoing reforms by forging ahead with the treason and murder trial of its leader, Mothetjoa Metsing, and his Movement for Economic Change (MEC) counterpart, Selibe Mochoboroane.

Addressing a press conference in Maseru yesterday, LCD deputy leader, Tšeliso Mokhosi, said by going ahead with the trial, the government was violating the 2018 SADC-backed government-opposition agreement not to proceed with all “politically motivated trials” until after the implementation of the multi-sector reforms recommended by SADC in 2016 as part of efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability in Lesotho.

Mr Mokhosi said this in the aftermath of last week’s High Court judgement which threw out Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane’s application to stop the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Hlalefang Motinyane, from joining them to the treason and murder case alongside former army commander, Tlali Kamoli and others.

Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane will now be formally charged on 6 December 2021 alongside Lieutenant General Kamoli, Captain Litekanyo Nyakane and Lance Corporals Motloheloa Ntsane and Leutsoa Motsieloa.

This after Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane on Thursday dismissed their appeal against the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Hlalefang Motinyane’s decision to join them to the trial. The duo had argued that they could not be joined to an already existing trial.

Initially, Lt-Gen Kamoli had been charged with murder alongside Captain Nyakane and Lance Corporals Motloheloa Ntsane and Leutsoa Motsieloa.

DPP Motinyane subsequently amended the charge sheet in February 2020 to include treason, attempted murder and aggravated assault charges among others. She also added Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane to the list of the accused persons.

The two politicians then filed numerous applications to stop the DPP from charging them including the latest appeal which was heard by Justice Sakoane before he reserved judgement on 27 September 2021.

On Thursday, Justice Sakoane ruled that the two politicians should appear before him on 6 December 2021 alongside other accused persons in order to be joined to the trial. He said their application stood to be dismissed because “it did not pass the legal muster”.

“The applicants were served with the indictment and notice of trial which had been scheduled to proceed on 24 November 2020,” Justice Sakoane said.

“They brought this application on an urgent basis on the same date to stay the decision of the DPP to join them in the indictment pending the finalisation of the application. The reasons for challenging the decision of the DPP do not pass the legal muster. The decision to join the applicants for summary trial in CRI/T/0001/2018 stands. The applicants must appear in court on 6 December 2021 so that they can be arraigned. The application is dismissed,” Justice Sakoane ruled. Incidentally, the Chief Justice is the presiding judge in the treason and murder trial. He replaced Botswana’s Judge Onkemetse Tshosa in July this year allegedly out of frustration over the suspects’ numerous, frivolous court applications which delayed their trials.

The treason charges are in connection with the 30 August 2014 attempted coup against the first government of former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane.

Mr Metsing, who leads the opposition Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), was deputy prime minister at the time of the attempted coup while Movement for Economic Change (MEC) leader and current Development Planning Minister Mochoboroane was Communications Minister and LCD secretary general.

Lt-Gen Kamoli had been fired by Mr Thabane from his post as army commander on 29 August 2014 before orchestrating the attempted coup allegedly with the support of Messrs Metsing, Mochoboroane, Captain Nyakane and Lance Corporals Ntsane and Motsieloa. Messrs Thabane and Metsing had fallen out with the latter alleging he was not being consulted on key decisions.

The murder case is in connection with the murder of Police Sub-Inspector Mokheseng Ramahloko which occurred during the attempted coup night when soldiers under the command of Lt-Gen Kamoli raided police stations to disarm police officials said to have been loyal to Mr Thabane.

The joining of Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane to the trial is highly significant in that it will be the first time for a sitting cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister to be charged with capital crimes like treason and murder.

The High Court’s decision to join them to the trial is also a major statement by the country’s judiciary that the laws of the land take precedence over SADC decisions and agreements as long as they are not domesticated through an act of parliament.

Mr Metsing, in particular, will be cursing his luck as he had fled the country in 2017 citing an alleged plot to assassinate him by the previous government. He only returned the following year on the back of a SADC-brokered government-opposition agreement that he would not be prosecuted for any crimes at least until after the country had implemented the multi-sector reforms which were recommended by SADC as part of efforts to achieve lasting peace and stability in the Kingdom.

Clause 10 of that 2018 government-opposition agreement stated that “Mr Metsing and similarly placed persons in exile will not be subjected to any pending criminal proceedings during the dialogue and reforms process”.

Incidentally, it was signed between the opposition and the previous government which was led by Mr Thabane- the victim of the attempted coup during his first stint as premier.

The head of the SADC facilitation team, retired former South African Deputy Chief Justice, Dikgang Moseneke, subsequently wrote to Mr Thabane last year, demanding that the government stops the judiciary from prosecuting Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane.

But in two separate judgements in 2018 and 2020, the Constitutional Court struck down clause 10 and ordered the two politicians to stand trial.

Last year, one of the judges, Molefi Makara, even said that SADC could not dictate terms to Lesotho’s judiciary as it was an independent institution.

Justice Makara said SADC could say “whatever it wished” but Lesotho’s judges would pass their judgements on the basis of the law and not the regional body’s directives.

Even though the decision to charge Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane was made by the DPP and okayed by the High Court, Mr Mokhosi and his party are somehow convinced that the governing coalition, anchored by the All Basotho Convention (ABC) and the Democratic Congress (DC), is behind the move.

Mr Mokhosi accused the government of reneging on its commitment not to prosecute Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane at least until the reforms had been implemented.

“You will remember that our leader (Metsing) and the MEC leader (Mochoboroane) challenged the decision to prosecute them when Mr Thabane was still prime minister in 2018. This challenge was however, defeated last week (in the High Court) on 18 November 2021.

“But SADC had already agreed with the government and the opposition parties that politically motivated cases such as this one should be suspended until after the reforms.

“In that agreement, it was stated that anyone hindering the reforms processes will be dealt with by SADC but the government of Lesotho has decided to ignore this agreement by continuing with these cases. By defying the agreement, the government is restricting us from participating in the reforms process. This will disrupt the reforms process,” Mr Mokhosi said.

He said they had since written to SADC over the issue and they would only decide on whether or not to continue participating in the reforms process when they had received a response from the regional body.

“We have already written to SADC requesting them to intervene. We have even communicated them through telephone calls. We hope they will deal with the matter in the right manner because they are the ones who initiated the reforms process,” Mr Mokhosi said.

Meanwhile, the MEC says although it does not believe that its leader has done anything wrong, it will however, abide by the courts’ decision.

“We find it hard to accept that our leader is connected to this matter but we understand that when the courts have spoken, we have no choice but to abide by the law. And so, he will appear in court on 6 December 2021 in line with the High Court judgement. We are fully behind him and we support him all the way. His court case will not disrupt the party and we will continue to execute our mandate until next year’s elections,” MEC deputy leader, Tšepang Tšita Mosena, said this week.

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Pascalinah Kabi

RULING All Basotho Convention (ABC) spokesperson, Montoeli Masoetsa, and Thaba-Bosiu Principal Chief, Khoabane Theko, almost came to blows over the latter’s alleged support of a plot to oust National Reforms Authority (NRA) chairperson, Pelele Letsoela.

All is not well within the NRA amid indications that Chief Theko is supporting a faction calling for Mr Letsoela’s ouster over a host of issues including making unilateral decisions at the authority. (See story above).

Authoritative NRA sources this week said tempers flared at an NRA meeting in Maseru. This after Mr Masoetsa, who is said to be against Mr Letsoela’s removal, had called Chief Khoabane a boy and accused him of hosting secret meetings aimed at toppling Mr Letsoela.

“Chief Khoabane did not take kindly to Ntate Masoetsa’s accusations and the two engaged in a nasty war of words,” said an NRA source.

“All hell broke loose when Ntate Masoetsa called Chief Khoabane a boy. They exchanged vulgar insults and almost came to blows. Had it not been for other NRA members who intervened and separated them, they could have fought,” the source added.

Contacted for comment, Chief Khoabane confirmed falling out with Mr Masoetsa but denied that they almost came to blows.

“I am a chief and everyone comes to my residence to discuss various issues. But they don’t come to discuss Ntate Letsoela’s removal. Ntate Letsoela would still remain an NRA member even if he is removed from the chairship.

“To the best of my knowledge, Ntate Masoetsa and I did not disagree over Ntate Letsoela. We disagreed on an entirely different matter regarding the NRA management. The disagreement was over procedural issue at the NRA management level. There was nothing like the possible fist-fight you have been told about. Those who told you that are talking nonsense. People are allowed to speak nonsensical things,” Chief Theko said.

Asked what his stance was regarding Mr Letsoela’s removal, Chief Theko said he was not in a position to comment right now.

“That one I cannot answer right now. It is my secret and I cannot divulge it to you,” Chief Theko said.

On his part, Mr Masoetsa said he would not discuss NRA issues with the media. He said only the NRA CEO, Mafiroane Motanyane, and the authority’s media office were allowed to speak to the media about NRA issues.

“I am not in a position to talk to you because we agreed that only the CEO and the media person, one Nkhasi, should speak on NRA issues. Those are the people you can speak to,” Mr Masoetsa said.

Even after it was pointed out to him that this was a personal issue which affected him, Mr Masoetsa said the NRA CEO and media officer were the rightful people to comment as his quarrel with Chief Theko is alleged to have happened at an NRA meeting.

The post Masoetsa, Khoabane in near fist-fight appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Pascalinah Kabi

A POWER struggle is tearing the National Reforms Authority (NRA) apart.  This could scuttle the implementation of the much-delayed SADC-sponsored multi-sector reforms aimed at achieving lasting peace and stability in Lesotho.

And even if the reforms get completed, they are now fears that they may not end up reflecting the wishes of the population but the elites leading the process, leading to more future instability.

Indications are that the authority is split down the middle into two warring factions.

On one side is an NRA faction said to be backed by outspoken Thaba-Bosiu Principal Chief, Khoabane Theko, and representatives of civil society organisations. The faction is said to be plotting the ouster of NRA chairperson, Pelele Letsoela, over a host of issues including his alleged attempts to push through constitutional amendments to reduce the number of electoral constituencies from 80 to 60.

Should the proposed constitutional amendments be passed, the number of proportional representation (PR) seats will be increased from 40 to 60 to accommodate more female legislators and representatives of other vulnerable sections of society like the disabled.

Last month, Ms Letsoela said the 2019 second plenary session of the national stakeholders’ dialogue had mandated the NRA to ensure that women and other disadvantaged groups were well represented in the National Assembly.

He said this could only be achieved by reducing the number of constituencies from 80 to 60 and increasing the PR seats from 40 to 60. He said the new PR seats would then be given to the disadvantaged groups to ensure they are well represented in parliament.

But the NRA faction said to be backed by Chief Theko insists that the proposal does not have widespread support. They say that it is only being pushed by Mr Letsoela who is allegedly advancing the agenda of small parties which are not represented in parliament.

The faction accuses Mr Letsoela of purging those he perceives as his opponents. It accuses him of instigating the removal of Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Lesotho chairperson, Nkoale Tšoana, from the post of NRA Media Committee chairperson.

Mr Letsoela is also accused of unilaterally renewing contracts of NRA CEO, Mafiroane Motanyane, and his deputy, Tšiu Khatibe.  It is not clear when the contracts of the two officials, who were appointed last year, expired. Nor is it clear when they were renewed.

Chief Khoabane refused to say whether he supports the calls to topple Mr Letsoela. He said it was his secret that he was unwilling to share with the media. However, NRA sources insist that he is the moving spirit behind the faction seeking Mr Letsoela’s ouster.

Mr Letsoela refused to comment yesterday. He accused the Lesotho Times of ignoring his request to discuss his concerns over an editorial and news analysis which was published last month shortly after he had announced the proposals to reduce the electoral constituencies while increasing the number of PR seats. He alleged that this publication had unfairly attacked him over the issue.

This publication has not ignored him as he alleges. Rather, he has not been reachable on his mobile phone on the occasions when he has been called to give his side of the story.

The NRA faction opposed to him has since petitioned the Speaker of Parliament, Sephiri Motanyane, to intervene in the matter. It has submitted a petition to Mr Motanyane, detailing the allegations against Mr Letsoela. It also accuses him of insulting NRA members during meetings.

The Lesotho Times only saw the first page of the petition but the second page containing the names and signatures of the petitioners was missing.

Mr Motanyane yesterday confirmed receiving the petition but said it should not have been submitted to him.

“I received something which looked like a petition. It looked like it was lost and I have referred it back to the (Law and Justice) minister (Law Lekhetho Rakuoane) who is responsible for the NRA. We are not responsible for the NRA,” Mr Motanyane said in an interview with the Lesotho Times.

In a separate interview, Advocate Lekhetho Rakuoane confirmed receiving the petition.

“I only received it yesterday evening so I have not been able to do anything it,” Adv Rakuoane said.

Meanwhile, NRA sources who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said tensions were very high in the NRA. They said they had since requested Attorney General, Rapelang Motsieloa’s legal opinion over a litany of issues including the allegation that Mr Letsoela had unilaterally proposed the constitutional amendment to reduce the number of electoral constituencies from 80 to 60 while simultaneously increasing the PR seats from 40 to 60.

“Since we elected him, there have been two attempts to remove Ntate Letsoela,” an NRA source said.

“I opposed both attempts because I felt he had to be engaged over his shortcomings instead of being ousted. We wanted to assist him but he is the most stubborn person I have ever met.

“In one of our meetings, he (Letsoela) pushed for the reduction of electoral constituencies from 80 to 60 and an increase in the number of PR seats from 40 to 60. He argued that this was necessary to accommodate more female MPs, as well as people with disabilities and other key populations which are not well represented in parliament. But this had not been agreed to in the Plenary II Report. Instead, the report clearly stated that the reforms should maintain the status quo (of 80 electoral seats and 40 PR seats).

“But a faction led by Letsoela insisted on the proposal to amend the constitution and they would not entertain opposing views. They were doing the bidding of the small parties whose representatives had held their own caucus meeting and agreed on the proposed constitutional amendment.

“Letsoela, who had previously refrained from voting on other NRA issues, decided to vote in favour of the proposals. He even threatened to expel some NRA members for opposing him. He even unilaterally renewed the contracts of the CEO and his deputy without our involvement and input. This was despite that we had been involved in their initial recruitment last year.

“He was able to do this after secretly amending the regulations which prescribe how the NRA should conduct its affairs. He gave himself excessive powers. He is turning the NRA into its personal project,” the source said.

Another source said that the infighting threatened to derail the NRA’s work which is expected to culminate in the implementation of the reforms which the NRA and SADC had said would have been completed by September this year.  That deadline was missed as with other deadlines established before.

“We are now at the stage of drafting bills and passing them to cabinet for tabling in parliament. By amassing excessive powers and unilaterally drafting the bills, Letsoela is creating a situation where the bills are his own baby and not that of the NRA. We are back to square one. We are at a point where the NRA is divided and has different caucuses. This is threatening the successful implementation of the reforms,” the source said.

Another source said they had since written to Attorney General Motsieloa to advise them on how best to address their concerns.

Contacted for comment, Adv Motsieloa said he had not received the request for a legal opinion from the NRA.

“Maybe the letter is on the way,” Adv Motsieloa said.

The post Reforms under threat appeared first on Lesotho Times.

’Marafaele Mohloboli

POLICE are investigating a case in which a Maseru man is alleged to have murdered his lover before committing suicide early this week.

Police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent Mpiti Mopeli, said 33-year-old Thabang Machabe could have shot his girlfriend ‘Mapalesa Chaka (27) before turning the gun on himself.

“On Monday 22 November 2021, the police received information that two bodies had been found lying on the floor in a house at Lekhaloaneng near Ha-Seipobi in Maseru,” Senior Supt Mopeli said.

“Both bodies were found lying in a pool of blood and three pistol shells were found at the scene. It hasn’t been confirmed that Machabe murdered his lover as investigations are ongoing. However, there is a high probability that he could have shot and killed his girlfriend before turning the gun on himself. Neighbours reported that the deceased man had a misunderstanding with his lover the day before the bodies were found,” said Senior Supt Mopeli added.

He also appealed to couples to seek help whenever they experienced challenges.

“We appeal to the public not to settle their differences by killing one another. There are many ways to resolve differences and these include seeking mediation from other people. Life must be cherished because we only live once.

“We also appeal to those with illegal guns to voluntarily hand them over to the police. This will help end or reduce the unnecessary killings,” Senior Supt Mopeli said.

Meanwhile, a source who was close to the deceased couple, said they had been experiencing financial difficulties since Machabe was unemployed while his lover was a vendor in Maseru.

“He (Machabe) was commuting on a daily basis to Teyateyaneng where he was hoping to be hired by a trucking company but this had drained their limited funds as his girlfriend was not earning much as a food vendor in Maseru.

“This had put Machabe under a lot of strain. He felt inadequate due to his failure to meet their needs. His lover had even threatened to leave him and he probably decided that ending their lives was the best way out of their predicament,” the source said.

Another source said Machabe had an open wound on the forehead while Chaka had a wound on the chest and back. This indicated that had been shot on the chest and the bullet had come out at the back. She had other wounds on her left cheek and behind her right ear, indicating that she had been shot multiple times.

“I had known the couple for a long time and I know that Machabe deeply loved his girlfriend. Perhaps the fear of losing her drove him to end their lives,” the source said.

Machabe and Chaka’s deaths come barely two months after a similar incident, wherein one Police Constable (PC) Ramoabi of Butha-Buthe shot and killed his girlfriend before turning the gun on himself.

Both PC Ramoabi and his girlfriend were married to different people. Nonetheless, PC Ramoabi accused his lover of cheating on him. He then killed her before taking his own life.

The post Man kills lover, self appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Staff Reporters

FIFTY-NINE murder suspects have been arrested and remanded in custody in a short period of just nine days, in a worrying indication of the escalating homicides in the country.

Thirty-five of the 59 suspects were jailed from 15 to 19 November 2021 while the other 24 were incarcerated in just four days from 20 November to yesterday, the Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) has said.

The development only serves to cement Lesotho’s dubious distinction of being Africa’s murder capital and the sixth most homicidal nation in the world as per the World Population Review rankings for murders. The rankings were released three months ago.

LCS spokesperson, Pheko Ntobane, this week said of the 74 people remanded in prison from 15 to 19 November 2021, thirty-five were murder-accused persons.

“Seventy-four people were received by the LCS and incarcerated over a week ago from 15 to 19 November 2021. Of these, a shocking 35 suspects are accused of murder and most of them are from Maseru,” Senior Cadet Officer Ntobane said.

“In the period up to 24 November 2021, another 24 suspects were remanded in custody on murder charges.

“Other suspects have been remanded in custody for various crimes like house-breaking and theft, sexual offences, armed robbery, assault, stock theft, unlawful possession of firearms and malicious damage to property. It is important to note that these have been remanded in custody while awaiting trial. However, there are 13 males who have been sentenced to serve jail terms for sexual offences and other crimes like house-breaking and theft.”

While various crimes appear to be on the rise, the country should be particularly worried about the high incidence of murders which continue to pile up with each passing week.

Despite the latest record high number of suspects remanded in custody for murder in the short period of nine days, many other murderers still remain at large as hundreds of citizens have lost their lives in homicides for which there have been no arrests and convictions.

Violent crime has taken root in Lesotho, resulting in the country earning the dubious distinction of being Africa’s murder capital and number six in the world’s rankings for homicides.

Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli, has nonetheless attempted to downplay the issue of the escalating homicides.

Last week, he accused the media of overplaying the World Population Review findings which placed Lesotho in first position for murders in Africa and sixth in the world.

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),” Commissioner Molibeli said.

But in the aftermath of his belittling the World Population Review’s report, the LCS confirmed receiving a record 59 murder suspects into its custody in the small space of just nine days.  Even if the police can be credited with the arrests, particularly if these result in actual convictions, such a high figure of murder suspects arrests only serves to confirm the gravity of the situation in terms of the escalating homicides, a factor Commissioner Molibeli appears oblivious to.  Still many more murderers remain unaccounted for.

Even as he was downplaying the murder rankings, other homicides were being committed in various parts of the country including the gruesome murder of French Pastor, Francois Snyman, who was gunned down in Semonkong in front of his wife and children. Pastor Snyman’s killers are yet to be apprehended.

His is the latest in a series of ghastly murders that have also seen seven police officers being killed in a short space of just three months between June and August 2021.  Several women have been murdered with their body parts being harvested, presumably for ritual purposes.

So bad is the situation that the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) has been forced to step in and launch an operation to arrest murderous gangsters who have been terrorising residents in Maseru and outlying areas. The LDF says it cannot fold its hands and watch people’s lives being endangered. It says it is not usurping police functions but it has had to come in to assist them to protect the nation.

Deputy army commander, Matela Matobakele, recently slammed the police for incompetence saying Lesotho did not have any police force worth talking about. Major General Matobakele said the army’s involvement in policing issues was therefore justified.

The post 59 murder suspects jailed in just nine days appeared first on Lesotho Times.

. . . police found wanting, fearful residents seek LDF’s help.

Staff Writer

THE murderous Manomoro gang, which terrorised residents of various parts of Maseru and its environs earlier this year, is back to its criminal ways.

Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) Public Affairs Officer, Captain Sakeng Lekola, this week said the army has been forced to intervene to save the residents from the marauding criminals.

Captain Sekola said four out of eight suspects have been arrested in connection with the criminal activities, including the murder of a former gang member, Leloko Lemaoane.

The eight suspects are Hassam Mahoumed, Rethabile Mokokoane, Sello Phakisi, Mokone Phakisi, one Mike, one Sarita, one Setinkolo and one Fusi.

Lemaoane was murdered a fortnight ago. This apparently as punishment for dumping the gang and undergoing an army-sponsored rehabilitation exercise along with 73 others earlier this year.

Besides murdering Lemaoane, the gang was again terrorising people in Matimposo, Koalabata and Naledi, Captain Lekola said.

“We have issued a public appeal to help us find the suspects who are wanted in connection of the murder of Lemaoane, a former Manomoro gang member” Captain Lekola said in an interview with the Lesotho Times this week.

“Lemaoane was part of the 74 juvenile gang members who successfully underwent rehabilitation at Makoanyane Barracks between April and June this year.

“He was a member of the same Manomoro gang before undergoing rehabilitation. The gang attacked and murdered him as punishment for leaving them. Gang members who were not rehabilitated are fighting those who underwent rehabilitation. They destroyed his (Lemaoane)’s home but did not take anything from the house.

“The gang also brutally assaulted Lemaoane’s 15-year-old younger brother and left him for dead. The younger brother was mercilessly attacked with stones, stabbed and beaten severely. Right now, the boy can’t even speak and he is communicating using sign language. Doctors’ reports indicate that he could have suffered some permanent damages as a result of the attack,” Captain Lekola said.

In April this year, the LDF was forced to step in and apprehend 74 people including the now deceased Lemaoane. They were mostly youths aged from 15 to 34. They were detained at Makoanyane Military Barracks for two months.

Code-named Operation Namola (intervene), the army operation was meant to capture the deviant youths who had caused residents to live in constant fear by committing murders and other violent crimes like rape, stabbings, housebreaking and theft.

The Manomoro gang is said to include hardened ex-convicts and even Famo musicians.

The army then organised a rehabilitation exercise which culminated in the juveniles being released and integrated back into their communities.

The LDF had intervened after the police had seemingly failed to perform their mandate of protecting the residents by arresting the criminals and having them prosecuted.

Last month, deputy army commander, Matela Matobakele, sharply criticised the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) for failing the nation.

Major General Matobakele said “Lesotho has no police force to speak about” due to the failure to discharge effective policing work.

He said the army had been forced to assume policing duties due to the incompetence of the LMPS. His comments did not sit well with Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro, who said he was out of line and had to apologise to Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli. Incidentally, Dr Majoro has refrained from criticising the police for its apparent failure to deal with violent crimes which have contributed in a big way to Lesotho’s dubious distinction of being the top ranked nation for homicides in Africa and sixth in the world on the World Population Review rankings released some three months ago.

It remains unclear if the deputy army chief has apologised for his remarks as per Dr Majoro’s instruction.

However, the premier is said to have agreed with Deputy Prime Minister Mathibeli Mokhothu that the police boss must be dismissed for his incompetence which has allowed the criminals to flourish.

But given the persistence of the crimes, Captain Lekola this week said the army had again been forced to intervene and assume policing duties.

“Again, we had to intervene after receiving reports from residents who were being terrorised by the Manomoro gang. People are being killed and robbed in their homes.

“We have already captured four out of the eight suspects. We have since handed them over to the police. More people will be arrested because the suspects gave us more names as we were interrogating them,” Captain Lekola said.

He said their intervention did not mean that they had usurped policing duties. He said they were only acting in line with their mandate to maintain peace.

“The army cannot stand and fold its arms while residents’ lives are endangered. We know that we have the police whose primary mandate is to maintain internal peace but if need be, we can also step in to assist. This is why we have handed the suspects to the police. We are not taking over from the police, we are only assisting them.

“The law mandates us to protect the nation against violent crimes like murder and others like espionage, terrorism or sabotage which threatens national security,” Captain Lekola said.

The post Army steps in, nabs four as murderous gang strikes again appeared first on Lesotho Times.

THE Crown is fighting a spirited battle to have a key mastermind in the M50 million fraud case involving the Ministry of Finance kept in custody pending finalisation of his trial.

The suspect, Lehlohonolo Selate, was originally denied bail when Chief Magistrate ‘Matankiso Nthunya, released his fellow accused on bail about two weeks ago.

Mr Selate’s fellow suspects Ntšeliseng Lawrence, Mookho Rafono, Tlali Mokoaleli, Thabang Nkoe, Hlabathe Phafoli and Thithili Makhesi were each released on M5000 bail and 100 000 surety.

They are accused of siphoning M50 million from state coffers through a well-orchestrated scheme in which they inflated and diverted payments meant for suppliers to themselves and their phony companies which had not rendered any services to the state.  The fraud was facilitated by the various Ministry of Finance officials.

Various media had incorrectly reported that Mr Selate had been granted bail on the same conditions as his co-accused. He still remains in jail after being arrested in a sting operation during which Ms Lawrence had withdrawn some cash from their illicit activities and was delivering it to Mr Selate in South Africa.

Mr Selate has now renewed his bid for bail and was back at the magistrates’ court yesterday.  His bail bid will continue before magistrate Peter Murenzi tomorrow.

It has emerged that Mr Selate is a suspected career criminal, with a multitude of criminal cases going as far back as 2013.   One of his alleged major heists involved a case in 2018 in which he defrauded M17 million from Standard Lesotho Bank. The money was partly stolen from accounts held by various district councils at the bank.

Mr Selate is said to have used the same modus operandi in which he recruits insiders of an institution to help him facilitate fraud. In this case, he used the bank’s employees to help him divert funds to his phony companies. All the insiders involved were however detected and fired by the bank.

Mr Selate has also been involved in nearly a dozen other fraud cases in which he has allegedly defrauded various state and private institutions of millions including the Water and Sewerage Company (Wasco), National Manpower Development Secretariat, Ministry of Forestry and Soil Conservation, Maluti School of Nursing, among others.

He has not been tried in any of the cases because he has been inexplicably granted repeat bails at the magistrates’ court even after he previously skipped other bails. His records in cases have also been recorded as having mysteriously gone missing.

Mr Selate, who has acquired vast assets in Lesotho and South Africa, including various prime properties, some of which have now been successfully frozen by the Crown, was first arrested in 2012 when he allegedly defrauded Wasco of more than M1.1 million.  He was to be subsequently arrested but absconded after being granted bail and did not pitch up for his trials. The magistrates court inexplicably granted him bail again after he was re-arrested.

In all his cases since 2012, Mr Selate has been represented by Advocate Rethabile Setlojoane, the same lawyer who is now in court for allegedly helping Mr Selate launder some of the M50 million proceeds.

Advocate Setlojoane however argues that he has done nothing wrong as the M100 000 he received from Mr Selate was payment for professional fees to represent the latter in the M50 million fraud case.  He has promised to fight his case in the Constitutional Court.

Before Magistrate Murenzi yesterday, the Crown argued vehemently that a habitual offender, who has many pending cases of fraud, and who has absconded while on bail on previous occasions should not be granted bail at all.  It would erode confidence in the justice system if Mr Selate, a key mastermind of one of the country’s major frauds, is granted bail as he would inevitably abscond again, in line with his habitual behaviour, the state argues.

The bail application continues tomorrow.

The post M50 million fraud mastermind must remain jailed: Crown appeared first on Lesotho Times.

HOW much longer will this country continue to suffer due to politicians and public officials who put their own selfish, parochial interests above the nation?

We ask this question in light of the disturbing reports of infighting within the National Reforms Authority (NRA).

As we report elsewhere in this edition, the body which is tasked with spearheading the implementation of the multi-sector reforms has been split into two warring factions.

A faction, which is said to be backed by Thaba-Bosiu Principal Chief, Khoabane Theko, is said to be plotting the ouster of the NRA chairperson, Pelele Letsoela.

Mr Letsoela is accused of several indiscretions including his alleged attempts to push through constitutional amendments to reduce the number of electoral constituencies from 80 to 60.

Should the proposed constitutional amendments be passed, the number of proportional representation (PR) seats will be increased from 40 to 60 to accommodate more female legislators and representatives of other vulnerable sections of society like the disabled.

Last month, Ms Letsoela said the 2019 second plenary session of the national stakeholders’ dialogue had mandated the NRA to ensure that women and other disadvantaged groups were well represented in the National Assembly.

He said this could only be achieved by reducing the number of constituencies from 80 to 60 and increasing the PR seats from 40 to 60. He said the new PR seats would then be given to the disadvantaged groups to ensure they are well represented in parliament.

He even attacked the Lesotho Times for simply publishing a news story wherein some analysts criticised the proposals on the grounds that they were not the best way of achieving the empowerment of women.

The analysts’ misgivings have now been vindicated by the anti-Letsoela faction which insists that the proposals were his own personal project which did not enjoy the widespread support of the plenary II participants. The faction alleges that the proposal to reduce the electoral constituencies is being pushed by Mr Letsoela and other smaller parties because they know they are unlikely to win any of the contested seats. The more the proportional seats, the more their chances of making it into parliament through the PR system, the faction alleges.

The faction also accuses Mr Letsoela of purging those he perceives as his opponents. It accuses him of instigating the removal of Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Lesotho chairperson, Nkoale Tšoana, from the post of NRA Media Committee chairperson.

It is not our intention to get into the intricacies of the infighting and apportion blame or praise.

We wish to point out that the infighting is not in the best interests of the country.

This country has suffered for far too long due to the perennial instability. The constitutional, security sector, media, judicial and governance reforms that were recommended by SADC in 2016 are our best hope of achieving lasting peace and stability.

The reforms ought to have been implemented by May 2019 but that deadline was missed due to the bickering between the then government and opposition.

Meanwhile, the country has paid a heavy price for the failure to end the instability. Foreign direct investment has been hard to come by as investors have unsurprisingly chosen to stay away from our unstable country.

The resulting poor economic performance has led to joblessness and widespread poverty.

No wonder our jobless and poverty-stricken youths are forever restless and always threatening protests to bring down the government.

Crime continues to escalate partly due to the high unemployment.

We surely cannot go on like this. The sooner we implement the reforms, the higher our chances of attracting much needed investment. But we can only do it if we have a united NRA working selflessly for the national good. We appeal to the NRA to desist from their factional fights and focus on the big picture.

The post NRA infighting will only derail the reforms appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Staff Reporter

FORMER Prime Minister Thomas Thabane will finally stand trial for the murder of his ex-wife, Lipolelo, early next year after a formal decision to charge him was finally taken.

Mr Thabane will be at the High Court next Tuesday to get a formal notice of trial via the Registrar’s office.  He will be officially informed he will stand trial around February next year.

Mr Thabane will be tried alongside his current wife, ‘Maesaiah, who has already been charged in the magistrates’ court and released on M10 000 bail.

Although the decision to charge him was officially communicated to him last month by the High Court’s Assistant Registrar, Stafford Sharite, it only came to light this week.

The 29 October 2021 notice of trial by Advocate Sharite is addressed to “Motsoahae Thomas Thabane, a Mosotho male adult and the former Prime Minister of Lesotho.

“Take notice that you will be tried on the indictment copy whereof is annexed hereto before the High Court of Lesotho at the session thereof to be held at Maseru on the 30th November 2021,” Adv Sharite states. However, the leaked copy does not contain the annexure detailing what will transpire when Mr Thabane appears in court next week. It is understood that Mr Thabane will be formally informed that he has been joined to the murder case against his wife and should appear in court to stand trial in February next year.

Repeated efforts to obtain comment from Adv Sharite were unsuccessful last night as his mobile phone rang unanswered.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Hlalefang Motinyane, was also unreachable for comment yesterday.

However, Ms Thabane’s lawyer, Rethabile Setlojoane, confirmed that his client and her husband, Mr Thabane would both be appearing in the High Court on Tuesday.

“My client (Ms Thabane) has been served with the notice of trial in the High Court. Adv (Salemane) Phafane and I will be representing her in the matter.

“She is due to appear alongside her husband. He was previously represented by Mr (Qhalehang) Letsika and perhaps he will still be representing him,” Adv Setlojoane told the Lesotho Times last night.

Contacted for comment, Mr Letsika said Mr Thabane had not engaged him to represent him in his upcoming court appearance. He, however, said he was ready to represent the former premier if called upon to do so.

Mr Thabane initially appeared in the Maseru Magistrates’ Court in February 2020 after being slapped with the same murder charges alongside his wife, ‘Maesaiah.

The two are accused of masterminding the heinous murder of Lipolelo on the eve of Mr Thabane’s second inauguration as prime minister.

However, he was not asked to plead. This after his then lawyer, Mr 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.

Thereafter, rumours quickly spread that he would be arrested as his constitutional argument had become moot due to his forced resignation.  Mr Thabane himself even announced at a function at his house on 6 July 2020 that he was due to be arrested the following day. 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 that time, the police and the DPP’s office had been blaming each other with the police saying they had done their part but the DPP’s office was still not taking action. In turn, the DPP blamed the police for the delay, saying they had failed to cooperate with her on crucial aspects of the case matter.

Unconfirmed reports alleged that the DPP had been persuaded by Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro not to prosecute Mr Thabane because Dr Majoro was 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 to date not commented on these allegations.  But his relations with Mr Thabane have been on a downward spiral.

An ABC source who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, last night said Dr Majoro did not have any reason to fear Mr Thabane’s allies in the party as they did not have the numbers to topple him even if they wanted to.

“The argument that Majoro would be blocking Thabane’s prosecution for fear of being ousted by his supporters in the party does not hold water at this point in time because they don’t have the numbers to oust him. They are already fighting him and they would have toppled him if they had the numbers. He will remain in his post despite the (former ABC legislator Tefo) Mapesela motion to oust him because he still has the support of the Democratic Congress (DC) and its allies in the coalition,” the source said.

A judicial source said the notice of trial was only issued to Mr Thabane last month because the prosecution now felt it had a watertight case against the former premier, the source said.

“The DPP is confident that there is solid evidence to successfully prosecute Ntate Thabane for the murder of his wife,” said the source.

The police accuse Mr Thabane and his wife of plotting the murder of Lipolelo to facilitate ‘Maesaiah’s ascension to the post of 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 when Mr Thabane was elected for his second stint as premier in June 2017.

Lipolelo was then murdered two days before Mr Thabane’s inauguration. 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  denies the allegations which came to light when Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli wrote to Mr Thabane in January 2020 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 made international headlines when they were first made. In a previous interview with the Lesotho Times, the former prime minister said he and ‘Maesaiah were innocent because “we don’t kill people”.

Last week ‘Maesaiah asked the courts to relax her bail conditions. But the Crown opposed the application with Deputy Police Commissioner Paseka Mokete alleging that some of the witnesses in the case had been eliminated at the behest of the former First Lady. He did not name the witnesses.

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. . . says speedy trial will enable him to switch focus to more pressing matters of national development  

Mohalenyane Phakela

MOVEMENT for Economic Change (MEC) leader and Development Planning Minister Selibe Mochoboroane is hoping for a speedy treason and murder trial to enable him to switch focus to “more pressing matters of national development”.

Mr Mochoboroane said this Monday after making his much-anticipated court appearance to face treason and murder charges alongside former army commander, Tlali Kamoli, Captain Litekanyo Nyakane, Lance Corporals Motloheloa Ntsane and Leutsoa Motsieloa.

A sixth suspect, opposition Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) leader and former Deputy Prime Minister, Mothetjoa Metsing, was also supposed to be in the dock but he did not show up amid rumours that he had fled the country.

For over a year, Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane fought tooth and nail, including filing numerous, ultimately unsuccessful applications to stop the state from joining them to the charges alongside Lieutenant General Kamoli and others. The police have since launched a manhunt for the fugitive Mr Metsing following the issuance of a warrant for his arrest by Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane on Monday.

After the charges were read to Mr Mochoboroane and his other accused, Justice Sakoane postponed the trial to 13 December 2021 to allow the state to furnish the minister and his co-accused with outstanding witness statements to enable them to effectively prepare their defence.

Mr Mochoboroane and his co-accused are facing charges of murdering Police Sub-Inspector Mokheseng Ramahloko, the attempted murder of Letsekang Mothibeli and five counts of the aggravated assault of Sergeant Mahanetsa, Lance Sergeant Thabisa Kopa, Lance Sergeant Thamae, Police Constable (PC) Mokete Litulo and PC ‘Mone.

Messrs Metsing, Mochoboroane, Lt-Gen Kamoli and Captain Nyakane are further accused of treason and the attempted murder of PC Moeketsi and Sub-Inspector Joele.

All the charges are in connection with the 30 August 2014 attempted coup against the first government of former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane.

Mr Metsing was deputy prime minister at the time of the attempted coup while Mr Mochoboroane was communications minister and LCD secretary general.

Lt-Gen Kamoli had been fired by Mr Thabane from his post as army commander on 29 August 2014 before orchestrating the attempted coup allegedly with the support of Messrs Metsing, Mochoboroane, Captain Nyakane and Lance Corporals Ntsane and Motsieloa. Messrs Thabane and Metsing had fallen out with the latter alleging he was not being consulted on key decisions.

Although the charges were read to them on Monday, Mr Mochoboroane and others were not asked to plead with Justice Sakoane saying they had to be first served with outstanding statements from 24 witnesses.

Justice Sakoane also asked the prosecutor, Shaun Abrahams, whether it would be prudent to separate the trials, bearing in mind that Lance Corporals Ntsane and Motsieloa were not accused of some of the charges including treason.

“Will it be fair for some of the accused to come to court and listen to the evidence which does not relate to them? Are they not entitled to a separation of trials? The problem is that you (Abrahams) are only focusing on the convenience of the Crown. Justice is not one-sided.  You have to afford the accused the highest level of fairness of the trial in terms of section 12 of the Constitution,” Justice Sakoane said.

Advocate Abrahams then argued that it was in the interests of justice for all the accused to be jointly tried because the state witnesses who had been lined up to testify in relation to the treason charges would also give evidence on the rest of the charges.

“About 70 percent of the witnesses will testify in relation to all the charges. It would be appropriate that all the charges be dealt with together. It will be in the best interests of justice that the witnesses testify in a single trial. We contemplated this issue (separation of the trial) long and hard but the evidence in the murder charge is relevant to the treason charge,” Adv Abrahams said.

Other defence lawyers, Advocates Napo Mafaesa and Lepeli Molapo, also weighed in on the issue, saying their clients could not plead to the charges because they had pending applications for the separation and permanent stay of the trials.

Their applications were filed before Botswana Judge Onkemetse Tshosa who had been recruited as one of the foreign judges to try high profile cases involving politicians, serving and former members of the security agencies. Justice Tshosa resigned in August this year before delivering judgements in the applications.

Justice Sakoane then postponed the treason and murder trial to 13 December 2021. He also said that the motions which were filed before Justice Tshosa should immediately be brought before him so that he disposes of all pre-trial issues as he intended to speedily adjudicate the treason and murder case.

Unlike Mr Metsing who decided not to show up, Mr Mochoboroane appears unfazed by the seriousness of the charges which attract capital punishment in the event of a guilty verdict.

Such is the confidence of the MEC leader that he is impatient for the trial to be speedily concluded to enable him to get back to what he says are more pressing issues of national development ahead of next year’s elections.

When he emerged from the court building early afternoon on Monday, Mr Mochoboroane was greeted by deafening screams from his supporters who had gathered outside the building from as early as 7am.

Addressing them via a public address system which had been erected for the purpose, Mr Mochoboroane urged them not to cause any trouble and obey police instructions at all times. This was in reference to social media reports that his supporters would throng the court building and cause commotion to protest the charges against their leader.

“I thank you for obeying the orders of the police force. I was saddened by statements that you would come here to cause trouble,” Mr Mochoboroane said in his address to the dozens of supporters clad in the blue and white colours of his party.

“The case has not been heard and we are coming back on the 13^th (December 2021). We need this case to be heard so let us allow the courts to do their job. Let us go to the communities and work. We need to emancipate this country from the hands of thieves. We should work hard for this country to be free from its troubles. Thieves have stolen money and they have come up with the treason charges. Lesotho does not have money because the thieves have looted that money. I cannot say much but I thank you for your support,” Mr Mochoboroane said.

Mr Mochoboroane also took to Twitter to express his readiness to stand trial and his wish for a speedy conclusion of the matter to enable him to get back to his work.

“When the courts call, I’ll always answer,” he said in a 10.37 am tweet which was accompanied by a picture of him and his lawyer strolling towards the courtroom.

“Let us go to trial and put this behind us. There’s a lot of work we need to focus on that’s in the best interest of our country,” he added in another tweet posted at 2.18pm.

From early morning, it was very clear that a momentous occasion was in the offing at the High Court.

Normally, not more than 20 police officers are stationed at the court building on a daily basis. But on Monday, there were reinforcements from the Special Operations Unit and riot control. The MEC supporters had turned the area surrounding the court building into a veritable sea of blue and white as they sought to give their leader moral support.

Unwilling to take any chances, the police barred them from entering the court building and cordoned off the area. Unfazed, the MEC supporters chanted and sang various songs including one in which they vowed, “we are faced with a war, we should fight this war”.

Only a handful of LCD members showed up, including the party’s secretary general, Teboho Sekata, who said he was “shocked” by Mr Metsing’s no show.

“I last saw him yesterday (Sunday) during our meeting and we were shocked when he did not show up today. I have not spoken to him since yesterday,” Mr Sekata said.

The LCD subsequently addressed a press conference, saying they would pull out of the multi-sector reforms to protest the pressing of charges against their leader.

The post Mochoboroane wants swift treason and murder trial appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Mohalenyane Phakela

A PRIVATE security officer has paid a heavy price for hurling misogynistic insults at the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Hlalefang Motinyane.

The officer, Teboho Seakhi, was on Monday sentenced to two years imprisonment or a fine of M3000 for using derogatory language against DPP Motinyane.

Maseru magistrate Teboho Thoso sentenced Seakhi after the latter pleaded guilty to the charge of contravening section 31 of Internal Security Act of 1984.

According to the Act, “a person who uses obscene, abusive, threatening or insulting language, or swears, shouts, screams or otherwise conducts himself in a manner that gives, or is likely to give such provocation to any person as to cause such person to break the peace or to commit any offence against the person, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of four hundred Maloti or to imprisonment for one year or to both”.

It was the state’s case that on 2 December 2021, DPP Motinyane came across Seakhi during her usual running exercise along Mpilo Boulevard near the National Security Services (NSS) offices. Seakhi then uttered the following derogatory words, “hey slender, matha ngoanak’a. Iketse tsopane tle ke u fumane u le tsopane (loosely translated as “hey slender, keep running babe. Make yourself tight because I want to find you tight like a virgin”).

Narrating the incident in her police statement, DPP Motinyane says she immediately stopped running and confronted Seakhi after he had uttered the obscene words.

Instead of apologising and retracting, Seakhi repeated his insults, DPP Motinyane states.

“I then waved at my bodyguard, Police Constable (PC) Matakalatse, who was just a short distance from where I was standing with this man (Seakhi). When he (PC Matakalatse) got to us, this man said he had only been teasing me. PC Matakalatse tried to approach him but he started running around our vehicle.

“He (Seakhi) then got into a cab but an army officer came and told him to get out of the car. We then took him to the (Maseru Central) Charge Office. I must mention that the man was carrying a rifle,” DPP Motinyane states. She said she regularly ran as a form of exercise and this was not the first time that Seakhi had insulted her in that manner.

DPP Motinyane’s account was corroborated by PC Matakalatse who also submitted a written statement at the police station.

After pleading guilty, Seakhi apologised to DPP Motinyane and begged for leniency. In mitigation, he told the court that he was the sole breadwinner who had to provide for his wife and three children.

Magistrate Thoso then sentenced Seakhi to a fine of M3000 or two years imprisonment for the offence.

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. . . slams Majoro for the “unfortunate harassment” of Metsing, Mochoboroane,

. . . says he is horrified and dismayed by the unnecessary arrests of top ABC officials. 

’Marafaele Mohloboli

FORMER deputy prime minister and current official leader of the opposition, Monyane Moleleki, has attacked Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro for allowing what he describes as an “alarming political situation” to develop in the country.

In a highly charged 6 December 2021 letter to Dr Majoro, Mr Moleleki accuses the premier of allowing the “unfortunate harassment” of former Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing and Development Planning Minister Selibe Mochoboroane.

Mr Moleleki also takes aim at Dr Majoro for the “horrifying and unnecessary arrests” of Messrs Montoeli Masoetsa and Chalane Phori who are both senior members of the premier’s All Basotho Convention (ABC). The duo was arrested and detained by police on Monday on allegations of sedition. They were only freed later that same day after ABC secretary general, Lebohang Hlaele, filed an urgent High Court application for their release.

Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane lost their High Court and Constitutional Court battles to stop the state from trying them for treason and murder alongside former army commander, Tlali Kamoli and others.

Mr Mochoboroane this week appeared in court alongside all his other co-accused. However, Mr Metsing did not turn up for the trial, prompting Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane to issue a warrant for his arrest.

Mr Moleleki was deputy premier in the previous Thomas Thabane-led government that inked a SADC brokered deal with the then opposition to stop the state from trying Messrs Metsing, Mochoboroane and other politicians for various crimes at least until after the implementation of the multi-sector reforms.

However, the October 2018 government-opposition agreement was struck down as unconstitutional by the courts, thus paving way for Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane to be tried.

This has not gone down well with Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane’s Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) and Movement for Economic Change (MEC) parties respectively.

Mr Metsing’s LCD has since pulled out of the reforms process in protest over the decision to try its leader.

Mr Moleleki has now waded into the saga.

“As the leader of the Alliance of Democrats (AD) and Official Leader of the Opposition, I have learnt of the harassment of political leaders, Honourable Mothetjoa Metsing and Honourable Selibe Mochoboroane,” Mr Moleleki states in his letter which is copied to the African Union, Commonwealth of Nations, the National Reforms Authority, Attorney General Rapelang Motsieloa and all political parties. It is also copied to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Sephiri Motanyane, the College of Chiefs and the Christian Council of Lesotho.

“You will definitely recall, Prime Minister, that the Kingdom of Lesotho is going through a delicate and necessary national reforms process, which is, without any doubt, a priority of the Basotho nation.

“One of the most important factors in the process is to ensure that all political party leaders participate freely in the reforms process. As the Prime Minister, you seem to have forgotten that you are, and should the custodian of the success of this reforms process.

“We have all learnt with horror and dismay, of the unnecessary arrests of members of your own party’s executive committee for merely publicly disclosing that the executive committee of your party has voted to recall you from the high office of Prime Minister. I hope and pray that their public disclosure of the committee’s decision is not reason for their arrests.

“I earnestly urge you to cause those arrests and prosecutions to stop without any delay. I and the rest of Lesotho, have always believed that you, Mr Prime Minister, are a believer in the democratic process. Today’s (Monday) acts portray your government as truly intolerant of any process of the democratic discourse in present day Lesotho. It sets us back many decades,” Mr Moleleki states.

He warns that Lesotho risks angering SADC by prosecuting Messrs Metsing and Mochoboroane. He also pledges to personally avail himself for a meeting to persuade Dr Majoro to desist from persecuting his ABC rivals.

“As for the prosecution of the former fugitives from Lesotho, I warn you that you are calling upon our country, the ire of our neighbors within SADC who persuaded your predecessor (Thabane) and myself to give assurances that exiled leaders and members of parliament would not be harassed during the national reforms process.

“I urge you to ensure that that these acts of harassment stop without any further delay. These acts run counter to the very tenets of democracy in our country in favor of what could be viewed as self-absorbed attitude on the side of your good self. I will avail myself to your good self, sir to persuade you personally to desist from harassing your own party members and parliamentarians,” Mr Moleleki states.

The post Moleleki decries “alarming political situation” appeared first on Lesotho Times.

Pascalinah Kabi / Mohalenyane Phakela

THE ugly, bruising struggle for the control of both the ruling All Basotho Convention (ABC) and government has scaled greater heights with embattled Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro firing Agriculture, Food Security and Marketing Minister Nkaku Kabi early this week.

Mr Kabi was last week chosen by the ABC’s national executive committee (NEC) to replace Dr Majoro as prime minister. This after the NEC voted on 2 December 2021 to recall Dr Majoro over alleged incompetence among other things.

Mr Kabi’s Sunday dismissal was followed the next day by the arrest of ABC spokesperson Montoeli Masoetsa and deputy chairperson, Chalane Phori, on allegations of sedition. This was in connection with their statements on radio to the effect that Dr Majoro had been recalled from the prime minister’s post.

Mr Masoetsa has branded their arrests and the dismissal of Mr Kabi as “a declaration of war against the NEC” by Dr Majoro.

Mr Kabi was fired from his cabinet post just four days after he was chosen by the NEC to replace Dr Majoro.

“The public is hereby informed that pursuant to Section 87, 7 (d) of Lesotho’s constitution, His Majesty the King, has accepted the advice of the Right Honourable the Prime Minister, Dr Moeketsi Majoro, to remove Honourable Nkaku Kabi from the office of the Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Marketing,” Dr Majoro’s press attaché, Buta Moseme, said in a statement on Sunday.

Deputy agriculture minister, Letsitsi Mokoma, has replaced Mr Kabi, albeit in an acting capacity.

A day after Mr Kabi’s dismissal, the police swooped on Messrs Masoetsa and Phori for allegedly making seditious statements following Dr Majoro’s recall on Thursday.

The duo was released that same evening. This after ABC secretary general, Lebohang Hlaele, petitioned High Court Judge Keketso Moahloli to order their release pending finalisation of the matter.

Mr Hlaele argued there were no reasonable grounds for the duo’s arrest and detention, saying this had only been done due to a “personal vendetta, malice, and revenge” on the part of Dr Majoro.

“I wish to state that their arrest is politically motivated,” Mr Hlaele stated in his court application.

“I make this bold statement because I am informed and I verily believe the same to be true and correct that at all times during their interview, the police officers were at pains to suggest that their utterances on radio were not only seditious but amounted to an overthrow of government. I am of the view that this is motivated and prompted by the deputy leader of the ABC (Majoro) who is using his powers as the prime minister to silence Masoetsa in his duties as the public relations officer of the ABC not to communicate the decisions of the NEC of ABC (sic).

“I reiterate that their utterances on radio were not intended and should never be construed to mean that the detainees were propositioning an overthrow of government. Without asking the court to interrogate the decisions made by politicians, I humbly submit that even Honourable Majoro was part of the decision. He has and had actively participated in that decision by voting on it. Had the decision not been to recall him, Masoetsa and Phori would have in like manner communicated it to the radio if asked in an interview. I was present in the NEC meeting and I am the custodian of the resolutions of the party.

“An arrest must be premised on a reasonable suspicion of a commission or imminent commission of a crime. I reiterate that the utterances on the radio were not seditious but were intended to communicate the resolutions and decisions of the ABC’s NEC. The prime minister, in his capacity as the deputy leader, co-chaired this meeting and actively voted on the motion tabled. The detainees are not responsible for the fact that the outcome was not favourable to the prime minister. This was a political decision, made by a political party in a matter related to a political appointee of the party,” Mr Hlaele argued.

In a subsequent interview with this publication after his release, Mr Masoetsa accused Dr Majoro of victimising him as well as Messrs Kabi and Phori.

“You cannot chair a meeting and later come back to say that the very same meeting was seditious,” Mr Masoetsa said.

“How can you chair a meeting and vote and only claim that the meeting was seditious after you lose the vote?”

He accused Dr Majoro of ordering their arrests. He said they knew of the plans to arrest them in advance. He however, did not say how they got to known of them.

“We received information that he (Majoro) gave orders for our arrest. What I have realised is that he felt that Phori and I were so rigid towards him when he arrived at the (2 December 2021) meeting (which voted to recall him). Other people stood up when he entered the room while we remained seated. After he sat down, Phori asked why some people stood up whenever the deputy leader entered the room, arguing that this needed to be clarified as it may appear as though we are insubordinate for not standing up.

“I then said that Thabane was the leader of the party and he had to be accorded all the respect (by standing up for him) but the deputy leader would only be given respect at government functions in his capacity as the prime minister, not at party meetings. He (Majoro) is an ordinary NEC member just like the rest of us. Some people accepted this explanation but I believe that he (Majoro) concluded that Phori and I wanted to take away his dignity and power,” Mr Masoetsa said.

He charged that Dr Majoro had taken a “dangerous route” by involving the police in what were purely party issues. He said this was in violation of SADC recommendations to depoliticise the security agencies and refrain from using them to fight party and personal battles.

“This is a dangerous thing to do to an organisation. He (Majoro) is destroying our party. You don’t engage law enforcement agencies on party issues because we agreed with SADC that we must depoliticise the security agencies. It is unfortunate that some people are doing the opposite and we cannot agree with them. A person must fight their political battles on a political platform, the same way we fought the Malumara-Likatana war. We expect this current political battle to be fought on a political level and won on political wisdom, not by involving the security agencies.

“The NEC will meet, reflect on the matter and make a decision on why decisions made by 17 people have now resulted in three people being targeted. Some of us are used to these things. He (Majoro) was just reminding us of what it feels like and making sure that we are firmly holding onto our fighting sticks, the part of our fighting sticks which must hit a person really hard. He was just reminding us of that fact,” Mr Masoetsa said.

His Malumara-Likatana comments were in reference to the ABC infighting from January 2019 to earlier this year, pitting rival factions led by Mr Thabane and his erstwhile deputy, Nqosa Mahao. In May 2020, the Mahao faction pressured Mr Thabane into resigning as prime minister. He was then replaced by Dr Majoro.

Messrs Masoetsa, Hlaele and others were initially in the Mahao camp before crossing over to the Thabane faction.

Professor Mahao eventually dumped the ABC in April this year to form his own Basotho Action Party (BAP). He alleged a plot by Messrs Thabane, Hlaele and Dr Majoro to oust him from the ABC. However, the trio denied the allegations and instead accused Prof Mahao of being power hungry and attempting to prematurely unseat Mr Thabane as party leader.

Meanwhile, Dr Majoro’s press attaché, Buta Moseme, has denied Messrs Hlaele and Masoetsa’s claims. Mr Moseme said the premier had not ordered the Monday arrests of Messrs Masoetsa and Phori.

“None of the allegations are true because the prime minister has no power to direct the police to perform their duties. Furthermore, it is also disturbing to say that Dr Majoro, who is a member of the ABC’s NEC, has declared war against his own NEC. So, the allegations are baseless. The prime minister is still in office performing his daily assignments,” Mr Moseme said in an interview.

The post Majoro has declared war on ABC’s NEC: Masoetsa appeared first on Lesotho Times.

. . . as PM fires Kabi while Phori and Masoetsa are arrested for sedition,

. . . PM’s allies launch court bid to stop all moves to oust him

Mohalenyane Phakela/ Pascalinah Kabi

PRIME Minister and All Basotho Convention (ABC) deputy leader, Moeketsi Majoro, has come out guns blazing in his quest to defeat his ABC rivals and retain control of both party and government.

In addition to refusing to resign after being recalled last week by the ABC’s national executive committee (NEC), Dr Majoro has fired Agriculture and Food Security Minister Nkaku Kabi who was chosen as his replacement by the NEC.

This was followed by the Monday arrest of ABC spokesperson Montoeli Masoetsa and deputy chairperson Chalane Phori for alleged sedition in connection with their statements confirming that Dr Majoro had been recalled from the prime minister’s post.

As part of his multi-pronged approach to remain in office, Dr Majoro’s allies have now launched an urgent constitutional application to stop ABC leader and former premier Thomas Thabane from “unconstitutionally” ousting him.

The application was filed in the Constitutional Court this week by top ABC members, Tlali Mohapi and Keketso Lepheane. Mr Mohapi, a staunch Majoro ally, is also challenging Mr Thabane’s claims that he (Mohapi) resigned his post as party treasurer two months ago.  Mr Lepheane is the suspended ABC chairperson for the Butha-Buthe constituency.

In their court papers, the duo begs the court to stop the ABC from recalling Dr Majoro, saying the “unconstitutional” move “not only threatens the stability of the country but has far reaching consequences on security, investment and public order of the state”.

“The authority of the Honourable Court is consequently required to protect the constitutional values of the rule of law, to order compliance with the constitutional principles and values, and maintain the integrity of the constitution,” Messrs Mohapi and Lepheane argue.

THE ABC’s NEC, the ABC, Mr Thabane, Law and Justice Minister Lekhetho Rakuoane, Attorney General Rapelang Motsieloa, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), all political parties, Dr Majoro and Mr Kabi are the first to ninth respondents respectively in the application.

Messrs Mohapi and Lepheane filed their urgent application in the wake of last week’s NEC decision to recall Dr Majoro from the premiership. Ten out of 17 NEC members voted to recall Dr Majoro and replace him with deputy secretary general and now fired cabinet minister, Kabi. Only seven voted to retain Dr Majoro.

In a subsequent interview with the Sunday Express, ABC spokesperson Masoetsa said the NEC had elected Mr Kabi to replace Dr Majoro at a meeting which was chaired by Mr Thabane. He said they had recalled Dr Majoro following an outcry by the rank and file of the party as well as the general public over a plethora of issues including poor service delivery and the premier’s alleged failure to stop the high murder rates in the country over the course of his 19 months in power.

“It has been decided that Majoro must be recalled from the prime minister’s post because of poor service delivery and his failure to implement strategies to stop the escalating murder cases in the country,” Mr Masoetsa said this weekend.

“ABC members and the public are all dissatisfied. We have received numerous complaints at our office. As a result, the party’s NEC now finds itself having to address issues that should have been dealt with at a ministerial level.

“There is also an issue of discrimination when it comes to awarding of government jobs. It has now come to a point where other party members are discriminated against and preference is given to those who belong to the prime minister’s faction. There is a perception that some ABC members are loyal to the leader (Thabane) hence they are being denied jobs as punishment for not supporting the prime minister. These and the longstanding issue of the prime minister’s refusal to work closely with the NEC are the reasons why he has been recalled. Even now, he (Majoro) does not engage with us. He is always hitting us with surprises (sic),” Mr Masoetsa said.

He said the NEC could not fold its hands and watch while the country was burning. Hence it had exercised its oversight role by voting to recall Dr Majoro, Mr Masoetsa said. He said right now the country needed a decisive prime minister who would act to address the multiple challenges bedevilling the country, not someone like Dr Majoro who “only paid lip service to pressing issues”.

He said the NEC believed that in Mr Kabi, they had found the best candidate to address all the challenges.

However, the war over the control of both party and government, which has plunged the country into a crisis, is far from over. This after Dr Majoro refused to step down in the aftermath of last Thursday’s NEC vote. He is said to have told his NEC colleagues that those expecting him to make way for Mr Kabi “would never see that happening”.

According to an NEC member who attended the NEC meeting which voted to recall Dr Majoro, the premier “was then given a chance to speak after the voting”.

“In clear terms, he said “bohle ba lebelletseng ke itokolle, taba eo ba tla e bona ha soebehla (those expecting me to resign will never see that happening). He (Majoro) was very calm when he said that. He said this in his usual soft-spoken demeanour”.

The NEC member, who is a Majoro supporter, said their faction was disappointed with the outcome as they had gone into the meeting believing they had the numbers to win.

The member said their confidence emanated from the fact that they had held a meeting at the State House on 29 November 2021 which was attended by 10 NEC members, including Mr Kabi, who had all declared their support for Dr Majoro.

The NEC decision has prompted Messrs Mohapi and Lepheane to file an urgent constitutional application for an order “declaring the decision of the first and second respondents (ABC’s NEC and ABC) to recall the sitting Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro and instructing him to resign from the position as unconstitutional, null and void”.

They want an order “interdicting and restraining the first and second respondents from performing any function, exercising any power and taking any decision which violates or has the effect of violating the Constitution of Lesotho as well as the constitutional principles and values embodied in the Constitution”.

The duo argues that Lesotho’s common law position that political parties are private entities, in the same category as churches, is legally unsound as the political parties make decisions which ultimately have a bearing on national security, investment and public opinion.

“The applicants urgently apply to the court for the upholding of the rule of law, constitutional integrity and protection against the clearly unconstitutional conduct of the first, second and third respondents (ABC’s NEC, ABC and Mr Thabane).

“The first, second and third respondents are however, immunised from constitutional scrutiny by reason of the common law position which regards the first and second respondents as private entities, thus immunising them from public law scrutiny. In the light of the constitutional violations of the first, second and third respondents… and the consequences of non-compliance with public law standards, the first and second respondents are essentially public institutions amenable to public law normative frameworks and it behoves the court to develop the common law to regard them as public institutions and to hold them to account as such, pursuant to sections 2, 22(1) and 156(1) of the Constitution.

“The irresponsible and unaccountable conduct of the first and second respondents has serious consequences not only on the rule of law and constitutionalism, but also on the state security, stability, social and political order.

“Political parties perform the crucial function in the realisation of the democracy itself and cannot properly continue to be characterised as private entities in the same category as churches, civil organisations, trade unions, clubs, societies and partnerships,” Messrs Mohapi and Lepheane state.

In addition to nullifying the recall of Dr Majoro, they want the Constitutional Court to declare that “the common law regarding the legal status of political parties registered with the IEC as private legal entities subject to their respective constitutions, rules and by-laws and limited judicial review grounds as unconstitutional, null and void”.

They want an order “declaring the political parties registered or to be registered with the IEC as public institutions, semi-public institutions and as such they are amenable to ordinary public law normative frameworks, principles and standards”.

They also want an order “authorising the applicants to participate in the affairs and proceedings of the NEC of the ABC.

“Interdicting and restraining the first and second respondents (ABC’s NEC and ABC) or any other structure or personnel thereof, from preventing applicants to attend or otherwise conduct and participate in the affairs and business of the first and second respondents and from harassing the applicants.”

The endless infighting in the ABC has once again plunged Lesotho into crisis. It had been hoped that the infighting would recede after former ABC leader Nqosa Mahao walked out to form his Basotho Action Party (BAP), taking with him nearly a dozen ABC MPs.  Prof Mahao and Mr Thabane had fought a war of attrition ever since the former was elected to the deputy leader’s post at the party’s 2019 elective conference.  Dr Majoro, who had lost the deputy leader’s contest to Prof Mahao, was immediately seconded to replace him after Prof Mahao split to form the BAP.

But the infighting had since worsened with Mr Thabane and Dr Majoro locking horns over many issues at the expense of the national interest. The infighting appears to be driven by frustrated allies of Mr Thabane, who did not make it into Dr Majoro’s cabinet, and have been unrelenting in their efforts to sabotage him.

The post Majoro fight back intensifies ABC war appeared first on Lesotho Times.

TODAY is 2 December 2021 and that means we are officially in the festive season. Worryingly, the festive season is starting when Southern Africa, Lesotho included, is faced with another wave of Covid-19 infections. Even more worrying is the discovery of the Omicron variant whose traits are still but new to our scientists.

That several cases have so far been discovered in neighbouring South Africa should be a cause for serious concern for Basotho particularly if we consider what happened in the last festive period. We remember with extreme fear the pace at which Covid-19 cases rose from mid-December until around February 2021 when the numbers started decelerating.

The reason for the sharp increase in cases and the eventual deaths of hundreds of our citizens was because thousands of Basotho shuttled between Lesotho and South Africa, the epicentre of the pandemic in Africa, using illegal borders. This because they wanted to avoid paying for Covid-19 test costs since no one can cross the borders without testing negative for the dreaded disease. While dodging the authorities helped the travellers save money, the cost was higher as lives were lost in the end. Thousands of cases were recorded in just a few months and hundreds of people died.

Apart from the deaths, the government was forced into locking down the economy because of the surge in cases. Thousands lost their jobs and the economy suffered immensely. Sporting activities were intermittently banned, schools were closed, restaurants and bars were shut down and factories were closed. When the economy gradually started reopening, the damage had long been done.

Just like any other year, we are expecting thousands to travel for the Christmas holidays. And given the laxity with which we have been going about our business, disregarding Covid-19 regulations in the last few months, we are likely to have a repeat of what happened in the last festive season if not worse. While we get solace from the ongoing vaccination programme, scientists have been clear that in Omicron, we are dealing with a totally new animal. In these early stages, no one knows the severity of the variant and whether or not it responds to any of the available medication. Early indications are that some of the available vaccines are ineffective when it comes to this new variant. Some countries have even said that the new variant is more difficult to detect and is even more infectious than the previous Delta variant. Still, there has been relative apathy towards vaccination and unscrupulous heath workers have gone to the extent of selling vaccination cards to those who are vaccine averse.

This calls for maximum vigilance of authorities as well as the public. We commend the National Covid-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC) for the vaccination campaign launched yesterday, wherein inbound Basotho travellers needing to be vaccinated will be inoculated at all ports of entry.  The campaign will go a long way in ensuring that Lesotho vaccinates more people this festive season.

According to NACOSEC, by the end of this month, Lesotho should have vaccinated 1, 6 million people. This is a huge ask considering that as of last Thursday, when the last update was issued, Lesotho had vaccinated 711 393 people, just 35, 6 percent of the target. NACOSEC and the government can only do so much but it must be every citizen’s responsibility to get the Covid-19 shot. Similarly, it is our responsibility to report any travellers who cross into and out of the country using undesignated border points. Apart from the act being outright criminality, those same people put the whole population at the risk of infecting others. It is the same cross infections between vaccinated and unvaccinated people which provide fertile conditions for the mutation of Covid-19 into new variants like the latest Omicron one. What is even more scary is that handling a new variant is similar to shooting in the dark with no clue where or what your target is, particularly in its early stages.

It is for these and other reasons that we urge Basotho and all who intend to grace our beautiful country this festive season to be vigilant and act responsibly. We are not prepared for more deaths and loss of livelihoods. We are not prepared to see the already decimated textile sector cutting more jobs as well as other sectors succumbing. Similarly, our fickle economy cannot sustain any new lockdown measures. Our children cannot equally afford to be locked out of school for a single day further.

The post We are in the festive season, let’s be vigilant and responsible appeared first on Lesotho Times.

THE festive season is upon us. In a week or so, thousands of Basotho will be streaming into the country, mainly from South Africa, for the Christmas and New Year holidays. No one begrudges them quality time with their loved ones particularly after a hard year due to the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But this annual trek home comes with the risk of an exponential rise in infections. Everyone- from the authorities to the returning residents- must play their part to ensure we avoid a repeat of last year’s scenario where thousands of people were allowed into the country without presenting valid Covid-19 certificates or being tested for the virus.

Unsurprisingly, the December madness was followed by a huge spike in infections. Hospitals struggled to cope and deaths increased. Left without a choice, Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro then introduced a hard lockdown. Among other things, cross-border and inter-district travel were all banned.

A dusk to dawn curfew was enforced. Many industries, including the textile factories were either forced to close shop or massively scale down operations and only operate with skeletal staff. People were only allowed out of their homes to buy groceries or to access medical care.

The country resembled a huge prison due to the massive, yet necessary restrictions on civil liberties and freedoms.

The toll on the economy was devastating and it continues to be felt even now as some companies failed to reopen even after the restrictions were lifted. The strain was just too much for them.

There is no doubt that the situation also took a social toll affecting people’s mental health.

Since then, the country has made huge strides towards containing the virus. The infection rate is well below the five percent ‘’crisis’’ benchmark   set by World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

The Ministry of Health has since rolled out a mass vaccination programme with the ultimate aim of achieving herd immunity in the population. When this is attained, we are told we will not be imposing the lockdowns which have crippled the economy.

We urge people to throng the vaccination centres around the country in their thousands to get jabbed. We urge the nation to continue observing all protocols including maintaining social distancing, wearing face masks at all times when in public spaces.

As we approach the festive season, we also call upon the authorities and all Basotho to avoid a repeat of last year’s debacle where thousands of people streamed into the country without presenting valid Covid-19 certificates or without being tested for the deadly virus.

As ancient wisdom has it, a burnt child dreads fire. We were certainly ‘burnt’ by last year’s experience. It would therefore be madness on our part to repeat the same behaviour while expecting a different result.

As we already know, another more infectious Covid variant was detected in South Africa and Botswana less than a month ago.

So far, we don’t have any reports of the new Omicron variant. But that has not stopped the United Kingdom, European Union, United States and several other countries from imposing travel bans on us and the rest of the southern African countries.

We need to be vigilant and avoid a repeat of last year’s debacle as this would lead to a crippling lockdown in the event that we import infections from South Africa this festive season.

As reported by the Sunday Express in its latest edition, a new lockdown imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19 infections fuelled by the Omicron variant would certainly drive-up Lesotho’s already high unemployment rates and consequently worsen food insecurity in the Kingdom.

This according to the latest country report on the food security situation in Lesotho by the Famine Early Warning Systems (FEWS Net).

In its latest report published last week, FEWS NET reiterates that “(Food) Crisis outcomes are expected to persist through the “lean season” (October 2021 to April 2022) in the southern areas of the country and Stressed outcomes are expected for the rest of the country in the coming months”.

The report notes that although food insecurity in Lesotho has generally been fuelled by poor harvests due to poor climatic conditions and lack of employment opportunities, it has been worsened over the past year by the global outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The lockdowns and the resultant bans on cross-border travel between Lesotho and South Africa, which traditionally offers Basotho employment opportunities, has compounded food insecurity, the report states.

Things could get worse if a new lockdown is imposed to deal with the threat posed by the Omicron variant, the report states.

“Food insecurity is predominantly driven by prolonged high levels of unemployment in Lesotho and South Africa due to the economic slowdown associated with the Covid-19 pandemic as well as above-average food prices.

“Another wave of Covid-19 associated with the new (Omicron) variant could lead to new restrictions potentially driving extended and higher levels of unemployment,” FEWS Net states.

The writing is therefore very clear on the wall. We can’t afford a repeat of last year. Everyone coming into the country will have to produce valid Covid-19 certificates indicating that they are free of the virus. Those without such certificates would have to be tested before being allowed entry. The security agencies would have to redouble their efforts to ensure people don’t stream into the country through unofficial entry points.

We owe it to ourselves to do the right thing.

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Limpho Sello

A HA-LEQELE, Maseru family has accused the government and Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital (QMMH) authorities of denying their six-year-old daughter an opportunity to go for crucial surgery to remove a brain tumor in Cape Town.

The child, Lerato Moshoeshoe*, was diagnosed with a brain tumor shortly after birth at QMMH.

Two years ago, specialists in Bloemfontein attended to Lerato and referred her to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town for surgery. They said the child’s life was under threat and the only thing that could save her was surgery at the Cape Town facility.

However, she has still not been operated on. Her parents are accusing the government and QMMH authorities of throwing spanners in the works by refusing to write the necessary referral letter for the minor whose identity has been withheld due to her age.

Narrating her ordeal in a recent interview with the Sunday Express, the Lerato’s mother, Lisebo Moshoeshoe*, said she was born in December 2015 with tuberous sclerosis syndrome – a rare multisystem genetic disease that causes the growth of tumors.

The syndrome causes overgrowth of tissues in different parts of the body. In the case of Lerato, the overgrowth is on the left side of her brain.

“The scans showed that she has a rare condition called tuberous sclerosis,” Ms Moshoeshoe said.

“This is a rare disease that causes growths in the brain and other organs. The condition is not cancerous but it can be fatal if it gets severe. With my daughter, the growths are on the left side of the brain and that is why her right side is very weak. When the tumors are on the left, the right side of the body is the one that is affected.

“We were referred to a Bloemfontein doctor who in turn referred Lerato to Cape Town for surgery after she had started experiencing seizures. The doctor wrote in Lerato’s medical booklet, saying he had failed to control the seizures and that the only option to save her life was a brain surgery by specialists at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.

“Unfortunately, we hit a rock at QMMH (then run by the Tšepong Consortium on behalf of the government). They told us that their agreement with the government did not allow them to fund the operation in Cape Town,” Ms Moshoeshoe said.

She said one her friends advised them to seek help from Rare Diseases South Africa – a non-profit organisation which is dedicated to excellent health care for people with rare diseases.

She said QMMH would not give them the referral letter even after being assured that the South African organisation would help facilitate Lerato’s admission in Cape Town for the surgery.

Lerato’s father, Lerotholi Moshoeshoe*, also expressed his anger and frustrations at the authorities’ refusal to help them.

“Lerato’s health continues to deteriorate. She is currently on four different medications to reduce frequency of seizures. Ours continues to a struggle due to delaying tactics by the authorities.

“At one-point Tšepong said the referral letter must written by the management at the Bloemfontein hospital that referred Lerato to Cape Town. Out of desperation, we went to the extent of writing to the Director General of Health Services, Nyane Letsie, begging for the referral letter. We even attached copies of Lerato’s medical records but to no avail,” Mr Moshoeshoe said.

The Sunday Express has made several unsuccessful attempts to obtain comment from Dr Letsie. Most of the times, her mobile phone rings unanswered and on the rare occasions it is answered, she says she will be unable to talk because she is in meetings.

This publication has similarly got no joy from the health ministry’s principal secretary, Khothatso Tšooana, who also said he was in a meeting and referred all questions to Dr Letsie.

QMMH Deputy Director General for Clinical Services, Lipontšo Makakole, said they were only allowed to refer patients to hospitals in Bloemfontein, hence they could not refer Lerato to Cape Town.

“You are talking about a patient who has been referred to hospitals that are not approved by the government. There is no way we can wrote referrals to hospitals that are not approved by the government,” Dr Makakole said, adding Lerato’s case had to be addressed by the health ministry itself.

Valuable time wasted.

Valuable time has been wasted. Lerato’s condition has been deteriorating over the past two years that both the Ministry of Health and QMMH have failed to assist the Moshoeshoe family with the much-needed referral letter.

While the family has been shunted from one office to another by the authorities, Lerato’s tumor has been growing bigger.

“The sad thing is that Lerato was a lot better than she is now when we were told to go to Cape Town. She was still a normal child but her condition has worsened since 2020. At times I look at her and think that she is now mentally disturbed.

“She has even developed other diseases. At Bloemfontein, they have also recommended speech therapy which she was attending at Ladybrand Hospital. She has had to stop going for sessions after the therapist moved to Bloemfontein,” Ms Moshoeshoe said.

She was full of praises for her husband who she says has been fully supportive to the extent of preparing different meals for Lerato whenever she refuses to eat what has been placed before her.

“He gives everything when it comes to caring for his daughter. He attends to her more than anyone else. When she refuses to eat, Ntate Moshoeshoe goes out of his way to prepare something else for her.

“If Lerato refuses to eat pap and milk, he will prepare noodles. If she still refuses, he will prepare spaghetti and try everything until she agrees to eat. He even has time to sit down with her and our son to watch cartoons. He now knows all the cartoons now,” Ms Moshoeshoe said.

Mr Moshoeshoe said it was important for the family to stick together in such trying times and he was prepared to do anything to assists his wife and daughter.

“I accompany my wife whenever Lerato has to go for check-up. Sometimes I even go with Lerato on my own.

“Even when my masculine side makes me feel otherwise, I fight the feeling and remind myself that we are in this together as a family,” Mr Moshoeshoe said.

Lerato could die

But all the maternal and paternal love will not suffice. It is no substitute for the medical attention that Lerato needs.

With a shaky voice and tears streaming down her cheeks, Ms Moshoeshoe fears that Lerato will soon die if she does not get the life-saving brain surgery as per the medical advice of the Bloemfontein specialists.

“Last year we were told that with every seizure, there is some brain damage that occurs. I get mad knowing that my daughter has been denied a simple referral letter that would enable her to have the surgery she deserves. What has made us angrier is the unsympathetic attitude of a QMMH staffer who said the money required for Lerato’s treatment could be used to help many other children instead of assisting just a single child.

“It would have been better if they had given us the referral letter and left us to struggle on our own afterwards. Things might have been different but as it is, QMMH has failed us by denying us the assistance our baby needs.

“Right now, I’m not coping at all. Every time I hear about epileptic children who have died, I just cry the whole night because I have an epileptic child.

“All we need is for our daughter to be given the referral letter so she can go to Cape Town for surgery. Even her Bloemfontein doctor pitied us, saying ‘if you were South Africans, I would send you to Cape Town right away before this thing becomes cancerous.

“We are appealing to the authorities to urgently help us with the referral letter to Cape Town. We are prepared to take her anywhere for assistance. They can even refer to India and she will go there as long she can get help to enable her to live a normal life,” Ms Moshoeshoe said.

*These are not the family’s real names. Pseudonyms have been used to protect the minor child’s identity.

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Enough is enough. This Majestic Kingdom cannot continue being held hostage to the endless infighting and skullduggery of ABC politicians at the expense of development and progress. It’s high time Basotho stood up and declare their disdain for the ABC’s infinite kindergarten plays. These cannot be tolerated anymore.  Enough is enough. This intolerably poor country deserves better.

For the avoidance of any doubts, Scrutator is not a fan of Prime Minister Majoro.  I however totally disagree with the way in which he is being treated by his ABC. I thus have a novel suggestion for Ntate Majoro. He can only ignore it at his own peril. I will return to this later.

My disillusionment with Ntate Majoro is a result of his unremarkable and unspectacular performance in government thus far.  Readers of this column will remember that after his inauguration in May last year, I was Ntate Majoro’s greatest cheerleader. Here was a man who appeared to be more of a technocrat and less of a routine self-aggrandizing Lesotho politician. I thought he would get things done. Unlike his predecessor, he was also immensely handsome.  I had all the confidence that Ntate Majoro would lead us to the promised land. He had and still has a decent wife who does not meddle in government business like her predecessor Lady Dee.  Above all, Ntate Majoro is highly educated with a PHD in Economics. He has also a veritable network of contacts having worked at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), even though some of his opponents try to discredit him by claiming he was a mere mail delivery boy during his time at the Bretton Woods institutions.

I had thought that Ntate Majoro would bring his technocratic experience to bear on our politics. He would change the way things are done. He would articulate a clear economic policy to take us out of our perennial doldrums. Alas, the opposite seems to be obtaining. Lesotho in crisis.

Things have gotten worse under his stewardship. Firstly, Ntate Majoro disappointed by delivering his entire inaugural address in May 2020 in Sesotho. The international investors – who were following his live address – and eager to hear his agenda were left stunned. Here was an opportunity for the highly anticipated new prime minister to clearly articulate his agenda in the language that investors and diplomats understand. In this very competitive world, investors have no time to look for translators. After they felt rightly snubbed, they simply looked elsewhere to invest their money. Secondly, Ntate Majoro did himself a great disservice by ignoring former EU ambassador to Lesotho, Christian Manhal’s advice, issued immediately after his inauguration, to articulate a clear economic policy to extricate Lesotho’s economy out of the ravages of covid. Generally speaking, 18 months after he took the reigns, I am not clear about what Ntate Majoro stands for and if he has any plan of action.  His coalition appears to be a headless chicken.

The economy remains comatose. Legitimate government suppliers remain unpaid. Nobody seems to know what happened to the US$70 million that Lesotho was awarded to cushion itself from Covid-19. In the meantime, fraudsters who have not rendered any services are stealing tens of millions from the treasury. In a nutshell, Ntate Majoro has failed to restore my faith in government.  I had high hopes for him. I am disappointed.

Nonetheless, all that does not justify the efforts in the ABC to oust him. Not least because these efforts are not driven by purely altruistic aims.  Those pushing for Ntate Majoro’s ouster have not articulated intelligible reasons for seeking his dethronement as I have done above. They are driven by their own selfish agendas. Simply put, their main reason for wanting Majoro’s head is anchored in the Kenyan adage eloquently crafted by author Ngugi wa Thiongo; “it’s our time to eat”.

They accuse Majoro of enriching his cronies through projects like NACOSEC where tenders are allegedly being dished out without tender processes using the current emergency declaration to fight Covid as a ruse to bypass lawful procurement procedures. Even if that is true, it’s not a good enough reason to dethrone a prime minister.  Ntate Majoro’s critics are not telling us how they will do things differently. If they recall Majoro to replace him with their own lackey, the script of corruption and embezzlement will simply continue, albeit with a different cast.

Ntate Masoetsa is partially right to state that the country has now gone to the dogs under Ntate Majoro.  There is no service delivery and the murder rates have gone through the roof; thanks to Ntate Majoro’s faith in keeping a patently useless police commissioner. But why is Ntate Masoetsa only stating these facts now. In fact, Scrutator only heard them for the first ever time from Ntate Masoetsa’s interview with the Sunday Express in its latest edition. Where was Ntate Masoetsa when Scrutator was talking about all these issues?

The real reason why Ntate Thabane and his allies are after Ntate Majoro’s head is that they feel sidelined from the feeding trough. From the very onset, they never gave him a chance to do his job.  Once he had excluded them from the cabinet gravy train, they went all out of their way to sabotage Ntate Majoro.

Ntate Majoro could have shamed them by doing his job well. He nonetheless played in their hands by leading Lesotho down the drain. Still, he must be given a chance to lead us into the elections next year. The ABC must sort out its internal issues first and then present its candidate for PM at the next elections.

Replacing Majoro with Nkaku Kabi is just not going to cut it. Not least because Kabi is himself an uninspiring candidate. The other coalition parties are also unlikely to support him. His performance in all the ministries he has served has been underwhelming. Appointing him PM is as good as reinstating Lady Dee as prime minister. Or appointing Thabo Thakalekoala as prime minister. Lesotho cannot afford that.

Ultimately, the only way out is for Basotho to elect another coherent party to lead the country. Not only is the ABC out of its depth, its internecine wars are unlikely to end soon. It’s time to give Mathibeli Mokhothu a chance. If the ABC cannot sort out its issues, as it certainly won’t, then maybe let’s just have elections now and get rid of it.

And that’s why I herewith advice Ntate Majoro to jettison the ABC and form his own party (Mahao style).  If I were Majoro, that would now be my inevitable next course of action. The longer he keeps himself in the ABC – which is full of his enemies – the more he is pushing his entire career towards complete oblivion.  Majoro should simply gather all the MPs in his cabinet and any others who support him and form a new party while floor crossing is still allowed. If all the other parties in his coalition support him, he will likely retain his post as premier and lead us at least until the elections before Ntate Mokhothu takes over.

Why did Ntate Masoetsa – the ABC spokesman – lie last week that there was no agenda to remove Ntate Majoro. Ntate Masoetsa was evasive when Pascalina Kabi asked him about the recall effort. He said there was nothing like that.

It was left to the Lesotho Times to tell the nation the truth in its headline “ABC recalls Majoro” despite Ntate Masoetsa’s original denials. He only confirmed the story long after the Lesotho Times had published it. But he did not apologise for his original lies.  What would this country do without the Lesotho Times?  I wander?  If Ntate Masoetsa is to be a credible, respected, grandfatherly spokesman of the moribund ABC, then he should at least learn about telling the truth.

                             If I were Metsing . . .

What the hell does Mothetjoa Metsing think he is doing?  Instead of presenting himself at court to answer treason charges levelled against him, he has decided to flee. He has used every trick in the book to try and forestall his trial. Why?  The only reasonable inference to draw from his actions is that he probably knows he won’t survive the charges. But that is his problem to deal with and resolve and not Lesotho’s. This country cannot continue being held hostage by self-serving politicians.  The reforms process must continue without Metsing. He can stay wherever he is indefinitely.  He cannot continue hiding behind the reforms process as a way of avoiding trial.

When you are charged with a crime, you must answer and exonerate yourself. Period. But Metsing doesn’t want that. At least we now know from his deputy, Ntate Mokhosi, that he wants to stand trial after the reforms when “the judiciary would have been reformed to conduct fair trials”. What gibberish is that.  The judiciary is – in its current state – able to determine whether or not Ntate Metsing inspired and conspired in the 30 August 2014 coup. That’s not a complicated issue requiring the reforms to be completed first. Any judge can deal with that matter.  If we follow Ntate Metsing’s logic, then even all the rapists and murderers lurking around would be justified in demanding the completion of the reforms process before they are charged and tried. That’s untenable.

At least Ntate Selibe Mochoboroane has done the right thing by presenting himself before court and asking for a speedy trial. That is what a good and real leader does.  If I were Metsing, I would emulate Mochoboroane and present myself before Chief Justice Sakoane.

Mochoborooooooooooooooooane

Ntate Mochoboroane has not only proved that he is a man of steel nerves. He has also proved he is a real leader. By complying with Chief Justice Sakoane’s order, he has proved that he is a real man. Ntate Mochoboroane has done the right thing by extricating himself from Metsing.  I had always suspected that he was not fighting to avoid trial out of his free will. He was probably just following Ntate Metsing along.

I have always thought that Ntate Mochoboroane is a future prime minister of Lesotho. He is still young and very hardworking. He at least articulates a clear agenda for the country. His party is even named after the thing that real matters; the economy. A coalition of the DC, BAP and the MEC is perhaps what Lesotho needs now. While the moribund ABC is left to continue with its war of attrition.

I have no doubt that Ntate Mochoboroane will put a solid defence and clear his name. Even if he fails and is locked up, he is still too young. On his return from jail, Lesotho will still need him. He can easily resuscitate his political career.  Unlike Kabi, Mochoboroane’s performance as minister in all the portfolios he served in was overwhelming. He has a good track record.

By realizing that he is better off presenting himself before court and answering all the charges he is facing, Ntate Mochoboroane has done the right thing. That’s what a real leader does. A real leader conforms to the law. He does not run away from the law under any pretext.  If Ntate Mochoboroane had followed Metsing in fleeing to Ventersdorp, I would have been disappointed in him. I would have withdrawn all my support for him. Because he has done the right thing, I say Viva, Mochoboroane Viva. Please repeat that loudly.

Ache!!!

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