LERIBE

A Butha-Buthe widow is fighting her stepchildren in court after she accused them of making illegal withdrawals of cash from her bank account.

’Maletšela Letšela told the High Court in Tšifa-li-Mali that her four stepchildren had taken advantage of her age and gained access to her money through her late husband’s death certificate which they used to withdraw some cash.

She did not reveal how much had been withdrawn from the account.

Letšela pleaded with the court to order the children to return her late husband’s death certificate.

Maletšela was the second wife to the late Mohlabakobo Letšela.

Mohlabakobo’s first wife died in 1991.

Letšela told the court in an urgent application that she married Mohlabakobo through customary rites in 1999 and they subsequently solemnised their union by civil rights in November 2003.

“I should state that I married my husband as a widower, his wife having passed away leaving behind four children who are respondents in the matter,” Letšela said.

Letšela has two children with Mohlabakobo.

She said at the time of the first wife’s death, they had already amassed property in the form of a residential house in Mokhotlong and rental flats in Butha-Buthe.

“I have always considered this property as belonging to the children of my husband’s first marriage and continue to hold that view,” Letšela said.

“During my marriage and before my husband’s death, we built a residential property at Makopo, Ha-Letšolo, in the district of Butha-Buthe,” she said.

“I had helped my husband to raise his children as my own and we have been living together as a family at my matrimonial home located at Makopo, Ha-Letšolo, until he passed away in October 2024, after a long illness.”

Letšela said after the death of her husband, they worked peacefully with his children without any sense of animosity and they appreciated her role as the widow and joint owner of her husband’s estate.

“This feeling is aided by a written deposition signed by Refiloe and Lietsietsi Letšela (Mohlabakobo’s children from the first marriage) nominating me as the heir in respect of monies held in my husband’s name at both the First National Bank and Standard Bank of Lesotho,” she said.

She said Mohlabakobo, with the aid of the family, wrote letters to appoint her heir to his estate in the event of his death.

She said even the children rightfully appointed her as the beneficiary in respect of these monies with a clear understanding that as a spouse to their late father, she was the rightful person to claim for benefits deriving out of his estate.

She said with the aid of the letter, she was able to withdraw funds from the banks to cover the funeral costs.

“Shortly after my husband’s burial, I was approached by Refiloe, who requested an original copy of my husband’s death certificate claiming she wanted to trace funds in my husband’s bank account held at Post Bank in South Africa,” she said.

“Sensing no harm, I released the copy to her and she left in the company of her brother and sister.”

She said she had no sense at that point whatsoever that Refiloe’s intentions were malicious.

“By that time Refiloe had already assumed possession of my husband’s phone and vehicle, and I did not complain owing to my old age and my understanding that

I did not know how to operate a smart phone, and my lack of skills to drive a car,” she said.

The siblings, she said, never brought any report regarding the funds they were to trace.

“I got suspicious of their actions and immediately sought intervention from the Butha-Buthe police.”

The police called Refiloe instructing her to return the death certificate, but she informed the officer that the copy was now in the custody of her sibling Litsietsi in South Africa.

Litsietsi later responded that she would “return the certificate on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 but that did not happen rather they are now claiming they never took it”.

“Sensing that the situation had gone out of hand, I decided to go to Post Bank with the aim of tracing the movement of these children,” she said.

Letšela said the bank manager told her that the children had instituted a claim as beneficiaries of the funds using the same death certificate.

The manager, she said, advised her to secure a letter of authority from the Master of the High Court for them to handle her case.

The Master of the High Court, she said, could not help her because she did not have the original copy of the certificate.

“I have no other alternative but to seek the court’s intervention as I was advised no actions could be taken without the court’s order.”

’Malimpho Majoro

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

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