Mohalenyane Phakela
CONTROVERSIAL Acting Chief Justice ‘Maseforo Mahase was at it again this week when she attempted to hijack and preside over Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli’s latest application challenging Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s bid to suspend him.
Commissioner Molibeli’s case was supposed to be heard by High Court Judge Tšeliso Monapathi but lawyers representing him and the prime minister found themselves being chaperoned to judge Mahase’s case. They resisted the acting chief justice’s manoeuvres and the case is now set to be heard by a panel of three judges excluding her.
Judge Mahase has faced severe criticisms for showing open bias towards Mr Thabane, in any cases involving the premier, at the expense of dispensing justice. This is widely attributed to her desperation to be confirmed in the position at all costs. Indeed, Mr Thabane has already recommended her appointment on a substantive basis but King Letsie has thus far refused to act on the premier’s advice.
This is not the first time that Justice Mahase has hijacked a case supposed to have been heard by another judge. On 5 February 2020, she inexplicably presided over murder-accused First Lady ‘Maesaiah Thabane’s bail application in place of the judge on call Justice Keketso Moahloli. She then hurriedly granted the First Lady M1000 bail without enabling the State an opportunity to oppose the bail.
Last year, the Court of Appeal went as far as banning her from presiding over cases involving Mr Thabane in his power struggle with his All Basotho Convention (ABC) party deputy, Professor Nqosa Mahao. This because of the favouritism she was showing Mr Thabane. All the cases in which she has ruled in favour of the premier in the ABC power struggle have been overturned on appeal. Her critics accuse her of having lost every sense of shame in her quest to do the bidding for the premier and land the job on a substantive basis.
A case for her impeachment from the bench over her gross incompetence is still pending in the courts.
Commissioner Molibeli is fighting Mr Thabane’s latest attempts to suspend him. He has this year alone already won three other cases in which the premier has tried to remove him from his post. The cases have ranged from the premier’s attempts to either send Commissioner Molibeli on forced leave, suspend him or put him on early retirement.
The police commissioner has been in Mr Thabane’s firing line ever since he fingered him and ‘Maesaiah in the June 2014 murder of the premier’s ex-wife Lipolelo.
In the latest case, Mr Molibeli approached the court on 16 April 2020 to stop the premier from suspending him again. The next day Justice Semapo Peete granted an interim order barring Mr Thabane from suspending him until after the finalisation of his main application. The premier had this time tried to suspend Commissioner Molibeli on allegations that the police boss committed perjury in a case in which he is accused of irregularly transferring one police officer from Maseru to Qacha’s Nek. Despite Justice Peete’s interim order barring Mr Molibeli’s suspension, Police and Public Safety Minister Lehlohonolo Moramotse tried to appoint Deputy Commissioner Sera Makharilele to act in the commissioner’s position.
That forced Commissioner Molibeli to approach the High Court again on 19 April 2020. The top cop was again granted an interim order that he should not be removed from office pending the finalisation of his main application against his suspension from office.
The two applications were then consolidated into one and the case was supposed to be heard by Justice Monapathi on Monday 27 April 2020. The case however, failed to proceed after the lawyers resisted Justice Mahase’s bid to hijack the matter.
Dr Thabane, the Police Authority (represented by Mr Moramotse), the Attorney General and deputy commissioner Makharilele, are the first to fourth respondents respectively.
Commissioner Molibeli’s lawyer Advocate Tekane Maqakachane, and the respondents’ lawyers, Attorney Qhalehang Letsika and Adv Rethabile Setlojoane were, much to their surprise, ushered into Justice Mahase’s chambers instead of appearing before Judge Monapathi.
It is said that Justice Mahase was ready to proceed but her bid to hijack the case ultimately failed after some of the lawyers’ resisted, forcing the postponement of the matter to a later date.
Adv Maqakachane, Attorney Letsika and Adv Setlojoane all arrived at the High Court at 10am but had to wait in the court’s foyer until about 12noon when the Assistant Registrar of the High Court, Adv Mosito Rabotsoa, came to inform them they would appear before Justice Mahase in her chambers.
The lawyers went into Justice Mahase’s chambers. When they emerged about 40 minutes later, Adv Maqakachane told the Lesotho Times they had all impressed upon Justice Mahase that since the matter could not be heard by Justice Monapathi as originally planned, it should now be heard by a panel of three judges excluding her.
“When we got into the acting chief justice’s chambers, we sang the same tune with the respondents’ counsels that the matter should be heard by three other judges excluding Justice Mahase,” Adv Maqakachane said.
“After she had listened to our reasons as to why she should not preside over the case, Justice Mahase agreed to allocate the matter to three other judges. Therefore, the date for the hearing will be set once it has been decided which judges will preside over the matter.”
Adv Maqakachane refused to disclose what reasons both sets of lawyers proffered for their refusal to have Justice Mahase preside over the case.
Judge Mahase is accused of throwing the rule of law out of the window in her quest to please Mr Thabane and get the top job left vacant by the forced resignation last year of Judge Nthomeng Majara
In the Lipolelo case, the premier’s grandson Thomas Thabane Jr and two nephews; Khauhelo Molapo and Thuto Makhooane, recently joined hands with Ms Thato Sibolla to file a Court of Appeal application to revoke ‘Maesaiah’s bail. Ms Sibolla survived the attack on Lipolelo, with whom she had been travelling, and the First Lady is charged with her attempted murder.
The quartet petitioned the apex court to review and set aside Justice Mahase’s decision to grant ‘Maesaiah bail on the grounds that it was unprocedurally done. They argue that Justice Mahase should not have presided over the bail application in the first place.
Prominent legal practitioner, Advocate Letuka Molati, is on record blasting Justice Mahase for presiding over Ms Thabane’s bail application, saying she should not have involved herself in the case. Adv Molati said this could be rightly construed as her way of repaying Dr Thabane for recommending her appointment as substantive chief justice.
Professor Mahao, a key victim of Judge Mahase’s biases, sharply criticised Mr Thabane’s moves to have her confirmed in that position. Instead of recommending her appointment to King Letsie, Mr Thabane should instead have recommended her removal for turning Lesotho’s judiciary into the butt of jokes and for undermining confidence in the justice system.
“I don’t know how someone can appoint someone who has so patently proven herself to be incompetent for the job… It just shows that leaders in this country don’t have the interests of the nation at heart. It is all about themselves and their friends,” Prof Mahao told this publication earlier this year.
The ABC deputy leader was on the receiving end of several judgements by Justice Mahase in court cases relating to his power struggle with Mr Thabane in 2019. The apex court rescinded all the judgments and went as far as banning her from presiding over cases relating to the ABC power struggle.
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