MUCKRAKER had a chuckle after reading what sounded like a preposterous statement from a senior army officer last week.

During the graduation of 310 trainees Colonel Mabote Sekoboto said “children of nowadays do not have strong bones so they get broken easily”.

Colonel Sekoboto’s solution is that young people should drink lots of milk, do manual work and walk.

It’s a pity though that the army does not run a dairy farm to bring trucks of milk to our villages.

Colonel Sekoboto should be careful not to insult poor people by suggesting that they drink lots of milk. The last time Muckraker checked most people in this country were having “lots” of water because they don’t have enough food.

To say those people should now start having lot of milk as if the milk comes out of a village well is scandalous.

Colonel Sekoboto probably grew up surrounded by lots of cows.

Good for him!

But he should not expect that to be the norm. Times have changed. Poverty has laid eggs in this country.

As for the bit about walking long distances Muckraker would like to remind the colonel that not allof us have those huge boots soldiers get for free.

In any case to walk long distances, you must be well fed. Where was he when it was announced that there will be a drought this year?

When it comes to his sentiments about young people doing manual work Muckraker can ask the army to lead by example.

They are well fed but they don’t do much manual work. Let the soldiers lead by example. After all they are the ones trained to ignore pain.

Trouble in paradise. That’s what Muckraker thought when she heard of the brouhaha in the Basotho National Party (BNP), a party with little support but huge connections.

It was only a matter of time before the tomfoolery started festering in that party that is haunted by its own wicked past.

Yes, the BNP’s past is not only stinky but also despicable. If that pricks your flesh as a BNP zealot then go tell it to the mountain. The truth hurts. History is stubborn. Muckraker doesn’t give a rat’s behind if you lose your head with anger. Someone somewhere was bound to get up some high jinks. And sure enough secretary general Lesojane Leuta set the ball rolling recently with his inquisitive barbs that have riled the leadership.

Leuta is asking about money, an emotive subject in most political parties. He wants to know why a party with buildings can claim to be as broke as a church mouse.

That’s more like a deacon asking a Pentecostal church pastor why he claims poverty when the people are paying their tithes with gusto.

Leuta has a right to ask that question even if the leaders think he is poking his nose where it doesn’t belong. As secretary general he should get answers about the party’s finances.

Unfortunately BNP leaders are not used to being asked tricky questions. So instead of answering his question the leaders have decided to clobber him.

Clobbering, by the way, is synonymous with the BNP’s history. For evidence of that flip the pages of history to the 1970s when the party used a knobkerrie called the army against those who had won an election fair and square.

Leuta must not scream because the party is only teaching him some historical lessons.  Leuta is also correct to ask about the money because, if the truth be told, the BNP is generating some money from its buildings.

The problem with Leuta though is that he behaves like a political novice.  First, he asks the question to people he knows will not answer.

Second, he keeps asking when no one is answering.

Third, he goes to the streets to shout his question. Recently he was in the media asking the same inconvenient question.

The man cannot possibly understand that such questions are not asked until you have amassed enough evidence to point a finger at someone in the party. Or you simply catch someone with their hands in the cookie jar before you start asking the question.

If the money was indeed stolen Leuta’s loud month has only helped make it harder to find. While Leuta was shouting like a mad man the thief, if there is one, is covering his tracks.

For shouting without evidence Leuta is now being shoved out of the party. His questions will soon be forgotten as he sinks into political oblivion.

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If you want to understand what poor Leuta is up against then you should read a story in the Sunday Express.

There the leader Thesele ’Maseribane and spokesperson Machesetsa Mofomobe took turns to wring Leuta’s ears.

’Maseribane said Leuta should find the shortest route to a hospital. Mofomobe said Leuta is behaving like a cornered cat and is about to ‘rain’ on himself. Both men sounded like thugs rather than politicians.

They spoke with the abrasiveness of village bumpkins. On one level ’Maseribane and Mofomobe have a similar problem: both do not have a sense of occasion. They speak because someone has asked them to.

To them silence is a sign of weakness. Because there is nothing substantial in their heads to sustain their overworking mouths they end up just talking drivel.

On another level the two men are totally different: ’Maseribane is a bully while Mofomobe is a bandwagon rider.

’Maseribane insults because he thinks he can while Mofomobe insults because everyone else is insulting.  They both suffer from verbal diarrhoea though.