News

Bloody clashes rock ABC

Published

7 years ago

March 13, 2018

MASERU – IT was supposed to have been a routine election to select new members to run the affairs of Lithabaneng constituency in Maseru.
But all hell broke loose on Sunday leaving one man nursing a serious knife wound.
Limamela Ntšeli, 43, was stabbed with a knife twice behind his left arm during the bloody skirmishes that rocked the ruling All Basotho Convention (ABC) party.

Ntšeli was rushed to Queen ’Mamohato Memorial Hospital in Maseru.
Several others sustained minor injuries during the disturbances.
The scale of the violence has left the party’s supporters shocked and extremely traumatised.

The Lithabaneng MP, Social Development Minister ’Matebatso Doti is said to be locked in a fierce tussle for the control of the constituency with Montoeli Masoetsa. Masoetsa is said to be angling to replace Doti as the MP in the next election.

As the mob charged at the minister, Doti’s bodyguards were forced to fire warning shots to disperse the violent mob that was baying for the minister’s blood. The crowd also threw stones at Doti.
She however escaped unhurt during the commotion. Doti had to be escorted out of the conference hall by heavily armed police officers from Thamae Police Station.

“My bodyguards say they were afraid that I would be injured,” Doti told thepost on Monday.
“But as trained men they managed to disperse the angry mob and got me out to safety,” she said.
“My worry was that the government car would be stoned but luckily the police arrived just in time.”

Ntšeli told thepost that he is just an ordinary member of the ABC who found himself caught up in a factional war. He said he had come to observe the election process when the altercation ensued.
He said he instinctively jumped in to protect a man who was being attacked with “all sorts of things” when the mob pounced on him, stabbing him twice on the left arm.

He says he also sustained multiple wounds around his head and face.
“The bad wounds are the ones behind my arm,” he said.
Ntšeli declined to comment more on other issues pertaining to the bloody incident saying doing so “might jeopardise my case”.

He said one woman from the same constituency was stabbed on the forehead with a sharp object.
The woman was treated as an outpatient and discharged.
Ntšeli said their constituency had since issued a directive ordering members not to discuss their differences in public.

Incessant marathon disputes within the ABC in Lithabaneng constituency have simmered for years.
Sources within the ABC in the constituency told thepost that there are serious factions within the party.
There is a serious battle for the leadership of the party in the constituency.

Lebohang Karala, who is a councillor for Lithabaneng MMC11, told thepost that their differences within the party date as far back as 2015.
He conceded to the fact that there are two factions within the ABC in Lithabaneng constituency.
He said by virtue of being the councillor, he automatically becomes a committee member of the constituency.
Karala said there is a faction that supports Doti while another is backing Masoetsa.

He said this is the third time that the constituency election had to be abandoned.
Asked what triggered the furore on Sunday, Karala said there are certain provisions within the ABC that had been breached by members in the constituency.

He said there are some ABC members who took the party to court and this is inconsistent with the ABC rules and regulations.
He said their constitution clearly states that their differences should be solved within their party structures.
Karala said the ABC National Executive Committee (NEC) had delegated someone to oversee the election process.
He said that delegate did not have the required credentials to do so.

“We told him that the election could not proceed because certain constitutional provisions had been flouted,” he said.
But he insisted that the voting process should continue.
The councillor said even the police indicated that the election process could not continue because of the volatile situation.
“The situation grew tense every given moment,” Karala said.

The ABC members in attendance exchanged blows, with others agreeing to hold the election while the other group declined to proceed with the voting.
Karala said he was also injured during the fight, although his wounds were minor.
He said they were not anticipating any fight and had been caught off-guard.
Karala said he is “associated with the faction that is against Doti”.

Senior Superintendent Mochekoane Ntšela, the officer commanding Maseru urban, said no arrests have been made in connection with the incident.
He said as soon as they have complainants, they will proceed with the cases.
Doti said her good relations with Masoetsa went sour after he lost votes to her in primary elections last year.

Masoetsa was also running for the position of the party candidate in the constituency for the 2017 national election.
“He lost and the Lithabaneng people voted for me. I could see that his supporters were not happy with the results,” Doti said.
“I thought it was just an election fever that would quickly go away but some people for no known reasons kept it alive.”
She said Karala seemed to lead a faction supporting Masoetsa and very soon he started not attending her public meetings despite the fact that she is the constituency MP.

“I started attending the MCC 11 functions with the councillor for MCC 12 because the MCC 11 councillor (Karala) was not supporting me,” she said.
She said Karala, who was the constituency chairman, missed several committee meetings and “according to our rules he had to be struck off and this did not sit well with a number of his followers”.

Doti said two branches of the constituency, Lithabaneng and Ha-Matala, have a large pool of supporters backing Karala and Masoetsa.
Lithabaneng constituency has 12 branches.
Yesterday the ABC’s national executive committee held a meeting with the two factions to resolve the dispute.

Majara Molupe

News

Knives out for Molelle

Published

20 hours ago

January 13, 2025

The Post

MASERU

KNORX Molelle’s appointment as the Director General of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) in February 2023 could have been illegal.

The Law Society of Lesotho has told Prime Minister Sam Matekane that Molelle was appointed without being admitted as a legal practitioner in Lesotho, as required by law.

The society claims the information came from a whistleblower on January 2 and was corroborated by its roll of legal practitioners in Lesotho.

The society says the appointment violates section 4 of the Prevention of Corruption and Economic Offences Act 1999 which states that a person shall not be appointed as the DCEO director general unless they have been admitted as a legal practitioner in terms of the Legal Practitioners Act.

In the letter, Advocate Ithabeleng Phamotse, the society’s secretary, tells Matekane that this requirement “is not a mere procedural formality but a substantive qualification essential to the lawful appointment of the Director General”.

“The absence of such qualification fatally impairs the appointment ab initio, rendering it null and void from the outset,” Advocate Phamotse says in the letter written on Tuesday.

The society argues that if left unaddressed the illegality undermines the credibility, effectiveness and legality of the DCEO’s operations and exposes the kingdom to serious risks, including challenges to the lawfulness of decisions and actions made by Molelle.

“Should it be confirmed that the appointment was made in contravention of the mandatory legal requirements,” Advocate Phamotse said, “we respectfully urge you to take immediate corrective action to rectify this glaring irregularity”.

Advocate Phamotse tells the prime minister that if the appointment is not corrected, the society would be “left with no alternative but to institute legal proceedings to protect the interests of justice and uphold the rule of law in Lesotho”.

“We trust that you will accord this matter your highest priority and act decisively to avert further damage to the integrity of our governance structures.”

The Prime Minister’s spokesman, Thapelo Mabote, said they received the letter but Matekane had not yet read it yesterday.

Matekane is on leave and is expected back in the office on January 14.

Questions over the validity of his appointment come as Molelle is being haunted by the damaging audio clips that were leaked last week.

The clips were clandestinely recorded by Basotho National Party leader, Machesetsa Mofomobe.

In some of the clips, Molelle appears to be describing Matekane and his deputy Justice Nthomeng Majara as idiots. He also appears to be calling Law Minister Richard Ramoeletsi a devil.

In other clips, he seems to be discussing cases. thepost has not independently verified the authenticity of the audio clips.

Staff Reporter

News

Massive salary hike for chiefs

Published

20 hours ago

January 13, 2025

The Post

MASERU

THE government has increased the salaries for traditional leaders by a massive 88.5 percent.

This means that a village chief not appointed by a gazette will now earn M3 001 a month, up from the previous salary of M1 592. That means village chiefs will now earn an extra M1 409 per month.

A village chief, or headman, appointed by a gazette has moved from M1 966 to M3 567 per month.

Above a village chief is one with jurisdiction over a small cluster of villages, a category three chief, who now moves from M3 768 to M5 181 per month.

A category four chief, known as ward chief, has moved from M4 455 per month to M7 993.

The category five chief, who reports directly to a principal chief, will now earn M10 674, up from M9 939 per month.

There is no increment for principal chiefs.

The government says the budget for chiefs’ salaries has moved from M129.4 million to M208.3 million annually.

The hike follows a series of discussions between the Lesotho Workers Association, representing the chiefs, and the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftainship.

The revised salaries will be implemented with effect from April 1, 2025.

According to the settlement agreement, a discussion about raising the lowest salary of M6 000 for the lowest-ranking chiefs will be revisited in October 2025.

Chiefs who spoke to thepost have expressed satisfaction with the hike, saying it will significantly improve their lives.

Chief Mopeli Matsoso of Ha-Tikoe in Maseru said his previous salary of M1 500 per month would now be doubled, which would improve his life and help provide smoother services to the community.

He stressed that they used to close the offices while going out looking for jobs to compensate for their little salaries.

“Now the people will get smoother services,” Chief Matsoso said.

“The offices will forever be open,” he said.

Chief Matsoso said the salary hike will also serve as a motivation for other chiefs.

Chief Tumo Majara of Liboping, Mokhethoaneng, also expressed his gratitude.

Chief Majara acknowledge the positive impact the salary review would have, especially as a new officeholder.

“I guess we are all happy, that review will help a lot,” he said.

The Principal Chief of Thaba-Bosiu, Khoabane Theko, said the salary increase of chief is a welcome move by the government.

“I’m yet to study how the new salary structure looks like. But I welcome it as a good move by the government,”Chief Theko said.

Nkheli Liphoto

News

Maqelepo says suspension deeply flawed

Published

20 hours ago

January 13, 2025

The Post

MASERU

Motlatsi Maqelepo, the embattled Basotho Action Party (BAP) deputy leader and Tello Kibane, who was the party chairman, have rejected their suspension from the party arguing it was legally flawed.

The BAP’s central executive committee on Tuesday suspended Maqelepo for seven years and Kibane for five years. The suspensions became effective on the same day.

The party’s disciplinary committee which met last Wednesday had recommended an expulsion for the two but that decision was rejected with the committee pushing for a lengthy suspension.

Maqelepo’s suspension will end on January 7, 2032 while Kibane’s will run until January 7, 2030.

Their suspension letters from the BAP deputy secretary general Victoria Qheku, say they should not participate in any of the party’s activities.

“In effect, you are relieved of your responsibility as a CEC member and BAP deputy leader,” Maqelepo was told in the letter.

“You were found guilty by default on all charges and the committee recommended your immediate dismissal from the party,” the letter reads.

On Kibane, the verdict states that the committee decided to mitigate the recommended sanction by reducing his suspension to five years.

“In the gravity of the charges, the suspension affects your membership in the BAP parliamentary caucus from which you are removed as a chairman.”

They were suspended in absentia after they refused to attend the disciplinary hearing, which they said was illegal.

In response to the suspension, Maqelepo wrote a letter addressing the BAP members in general, defying the committee’s decision to suspend them.

He has called for a special conference, appealing to party constituencies to push for it, citing the ongoing internal fight that includes the leadership’s decision to withdraw the BAP from the coalition government.

Maqelepo also said the central executive committee is illegally in a campaign to dissolve committees in the constituencies and replace them with stooges.

He reminded the members that there is a court case pending in the High Court seeking an interdiction to charge them in the party’s structures without approval of the special conference that he is calling.

He said the party leadership should have awaited the outcome of the case before proceeding with any disciplinary action.

“The party that is led by a professor of law continues to do dismissals despite the issue being taken to the courts,” Maqelepo said.

The party leader, Professor Nqosa Mahao, is a distinguished professor of law.

Maqelepo said they would write the central executive committee rejecting its decision to suspend them, saying they will continue taking part in party activities.

He said their fate in the party is in the hands of the special conference.

He appealed to all the party constituencies to continue writing letters demanding the special conference.

Both Maqelepo and Kibane received letters on November 28 last year inviting them to show cause why they should not be suspended pending their hearing.

They both responded on the following day refusing to attend.

Maqelepo, Kibane, Hilda Van Rooyen, and ’Mamoipone Senauoane are accused of supporting a move to remove Professor Mahao from his ministerial position last year.

They were part of the BAP members who asked Prime Minister Sam Matekane to fire Professor Mahao, who at the same time was pushing for the reshuffling of Tankiso Phapano, the principal secretary for the Ministry of Energy.

When Matekane ignored Professor Mahao’s demands, the latter withdrew the BAP from the coalition government much to the fierce resistance of the party’s four MPs.

Maqelepo started touting members from constituencies to call for a special conference to reverse Professor Mahao and the central executive committee’s decision.

The central executive committee issued a circular stopping Maqelepo’s rallies but he continued, with the support of the other MPs.

In the BAP caucus of six MPs, it is only Professor Mahao and ’Manyaneso Taole who are supporting the withdrawal from the government.

Nkheli Liphoto