MASERU

THERE were long queues at the Home Affairs offices in Maseru this week with scores of Basotho demanding new passports.

Some of them said they had been waiting for the passports for over a year, with the government not giving them a clear explanation as to why they had still not been issued with the travel document.

The crisis at Home Affairs comes at a time when more than 500 Basotho have been arrested in the last week for crossing the border into South Africa without passports.

Many of these were travelling back to South Africa where they are employed. The South African police mounted roadblocks a few kilometres from the border gates.

When thepost crew arrived at the passport office in Maseru yesterday, dozens were cuddled under the trees protecting themselves from the scorching sun.

One official from the passport office came out to tell the desperate applicants that he was going to issue passports only to those going to school or who work outside the country.

The official said the applicants should produce their work or study permits for them to be issued with passports.

‘Mampolokeng Poea, 41, a domestic worker in South Africa, told thepost that she applied for a passport in 2023 and it has not been issued since.

Poea went to South Africa in 2021 after being retrenched from textile factories in Maseru due to Covid-19.

“I have come here three times without success,” Poea said.

The mother of three said police chase them while at work in South Africa once it becomes clear to them that they are illegal immigrants.

We are always on the run, she said.

She said she illegally crossed into Lesotho for the Christmas holidays, assisted by “some boys” at the Maseru border, whom she paid.

She said if she would not get the passport by yesterday she would go to Maputsoe to illegally cross to South Africa as the Maseru border is now swarming with law enforcement agents.

“This is painful but there is nothing that we can do,” Poea said.

She said poverty pushed her out of her home to seek better fortunes in South Africa.

Her husband is also trying his luck in the construction sites but is struggling in South Africa.

“Men are the most vulnerable and prone to police attacks in South Africa,” she said.

Poea said she once exchanged harsh words with one passport official in Maseru when she enquired about her passport.

“That man told me that he does not make passports. He was not cooperative at all,” Poea said.

“Whether I get a passport or not, I am going to work in South Africa,” she said.

“If I managed to come here, I will also manage to go back.”

Another passport applicant, ’Malillo Napo, in her 50s, said she applied for a passport in February last year but it has not been issued to date.

Napo, a widow eking out a living in the South African domestic sector, blames the government for failure to produce passports.

What frustrates her is that the people who applied as recently as May have got their passports while she is still waiting.

“I do not know how this system operates,” Napo said.

Mputi Nkhasi, another applicant, said he has been coming to check for his passport that he applied for last year.

Nkhasi works at construction sites in South Africa.

“Whether I will get a passport or not, I am going to South Africa. I will cross the river,” Nkhasi said.

Last night, the Ministry of Home Affairs spokesperson ’Marelebohile Mothibeli said their operating system is down at the moment.

“We are still issuing the passports but our system is down,” Mothibeli said.

Majara Molupe

KNORX Molelle, the embattled Director General of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO), is a man living on borrowed time.

Molelle was caught in an embarrassing audio clip lambasting Prime Minister Sam Matekane, the man who appointed him to that prestigious position, “as an idiot”.

He also did not have any kind words for Deputy Prime Minister Nthomeng Majara as well as Justice Minister Richard Ramoeletsi.

It is the insults, because of their graphic nature, that were likely to grab the attention of Basotho.

It is for that reason that Molelle has dominated the news this week.

Of course, Molelle was said to have been making frantic efforts to meet Prime Minister Matekane to “explain the context” of the audio clips.

We would like to believe that no amount of apologies or explanations will likely wash away the toxic nature of his discussions with Machesetsa Mofomobe.

Molelle, no doubt, has made many enemies in the course of carrying out his duties. That should not be a surprise given the nature of his office.

And he should have known this fact.

The very fact that he let his guard down while discussing such sensitive matters with Mofomobe, a man his office had sought to arrest only a few months ago, could indicate that he had a serious lapse in judgment.

That alone, should be enough to get him the sack.

That could indicate that he is not fit to hold such a sensitive position, begging the question: What other sensitive matters that would impact Lesotho’s national security did he divulge to hostile foreign governments and their agents who lurk on the streets of Maseru?

We will obviously never know the answer.

But there is a possibility that with such an unbridled tongue, Molelle could have been a threat to himself and Lesotho’s sovereignty and national interests.

His position demanded a certain level of sobriety and integrity. He needed to do more of listening and less of talking. Those who know him better say the man loved to listen to his own voice.

By lambasting Prime Minister Matekane in such coarse language, Molelle showed he had no trust in the man who appointed him to that position in the first place.

In our opinion, his position as DCEO boss has become clearly untenable.

He must therefore either resign or get fired.

While the issue of insults is serious, it pales into insignificance when we consider the wider implications of Molelle’s other indiscretions.

Molelle was caught in the audio discussing some serious matters, some of which are still under investigation, with Mofomobe.

That was a serious lapse in judgment.

The question that Molelle has not answered is why? Why did he do it?

Perhaps he has an explanation that he has given to the Prime Minister to which we are not privy. We remain curios to know the answer.

This of course must have been a very difficult week for Molelle. While much had been expected from the DCEO with Molelle’s appointment, there is a feeling that the anti-corruption unit has grossly underperformed under his leadership.

The old habits of targeting political opponents have remained. Those with political cover have remained untouched. There has been very little to show, in terms of convictions, from their work.

If Molelle does not survive this fallout, which remained very much likely at the time of writing, it would give the DCEO a fresh chance to reset.

The anti-corruption unit will need a new head, with fresh ideas on how to run a clean, efficient unit to combat corruption.

MASERU

Lesotho Olympian Tebello Ramakongoana has booked a ticket to the 2025 World Athletics Championships after finishing second at the C&D Xiamen Marathon in China on Sunday.

Ramakongoana ran a brilliant race at the global event, and he finished in a Lesotho record time of 2:06:18 hours, just 12 seconds shy of first place.

Ethiopian Dawit Wolde secured title ahead of Ramakongoana in a time of 2:06:06.

Ramakongoana’s time has earned him automatic qualification to the World Championships set to be held in Tokyo in September this year and his performance in China took 1:40 minutes off the national record he set when he finished seventh at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

When speaking to local media, Ramakongoana’s American coach, James McKirdy, said the weather was warm but after 10 kilometres the sun appeared.

He said Ramakongoana ran a mostly strategic race with the focus to be amongst the front pack in the early stages of the race.

After 35km, the Olympian increased tempo and pushed the leading pack of 12 men that was a deciding point on who would make the podium.

From there the numbers in the leading group started to dwindle and with two kilometres to go, only four were in the running for podium places.

“(By) pushing hard, Tebello finished in 2:06:18 and earned 2nd place, both his time and his finishing position earned him the automatic standard for the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo later this year,” McKirdy said.

“The Xiamen Marathon is an out and back course with moderate hills along the coast of China.

“Tebello’s time was also under the former course record and now sits as the second fastest time ever run for the event,” he continued.

The athlete is currently abroad in the United States where he is based and training.

He was Lesotho’s standout performer at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Ramakongoana finished fourth at the 2023 World Athletics Championships and he will hope to claim a medal at this year’s games scheduled to be held from September 13 to 21 in Tokyo, Japan.

Tlalane Phahla