Trade unionist beaten up

MASERU – A trade unionist, Robert Mokhahlane, was beaten up and arrested by the police after a protest he was leading for better pay and working conditions turned violent in Qacha’s Nek on Sunday.
Mokhahlane is the secretary general for the Construction, Mining and Quarrying (CMQ) trade union.

Mokhahlane said he received a call from the Qacha’s Nek police station commander to report at the station around noon on Sunday.
“I had visited his office before his call where I told him about our problems at the Mpiti to Sehlaba-Thebe road construction project,” Mokhahlane said.
He said the police seemed to understand his side of the story but they were stunned to see the armed police beating up the workers who had downed tools.

He said the police were accompanied by the army.
“The moment I tried to leave the place, they arrested me,” he said.
“I was only representing the workers and their interests,” he said.
“But in Lesotho when you advocate for people’s rights, you will be arrested and beaten and made to roll in humiliation.”

He said his understanding was that they have rights as workers to protest or down tools where an employer shows he is not interested in solving their problems.
He said they told the army and police that they were not on strike but had simply downed their tools.
He said this seemed to be what triggered the police to beat them up.

While subjecting them to torture, Mokhahlane said the police told them that they were on an unlawful strike.
Mokhahlane said the employer was supposed to go to the Labour Court if they had disagreements adding that there is a section that says police do not have power or discretion to decide if a strike is lawful or not.
He said they saw police arriving in a Toyota Quantum which belongs to the employer, “which appeared to be inappropriate”.

He said the employer did not have the right to call the police to beat them up as they are protected by Lesotho’s labour laws.
Police deputy spokeswoman, Sub-Inspector ’Mareabetsoe Mofoka, told thepost that five people were arrested after the contractors at Mpiti to Sehlaba-Thebe “went out of order by embarking on an unlawful strike”.
“Police received reports that some of the workers were throwing stones at those who were still working,” Sub-Insp Mofoka said.

She said the contractors were fighting for among the other things better salaries, a housing allowance and transport to and from work.
“The police went to the scene and found out that the reports were truthful and then arrests were made,” she said.

Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) spokesman, Captain Sakeng Lekola, told thepost this week that the army had been invited by the police to provide security adding it was not part of the operation.
He said allegations that the army beat up the striking workers were not true.
The workers are building the 91km-road from Mpiti to Sehlaba-Thebe.
The project began in January 2019 and is anticipated to be completed by 2022.

When complete, the 91km road will become a seven-meter-wide double-lane road, shortening the driving time from Mpiti to Sehlaba-Thebe.
The 600 workers downed tools and are demanding a salary raise and benefits such as the provision of food while at work and accommodation.
The police say the strike was illegal because it violated Covid-19 regulations which banned all protest marches, strikes and picketing.

Nkheli Liphoto