News

Lelosa’s pouch of melodies

Published

3 years ago

August 10, 2021

MASERU – “COME, make a circle around me, sit down and hear me, oh children of the same pouch.”
This is how Thaabe Lelosa, praise-poet and singer popularly known as Thari-ea Tšephe (pouch made of eland skin), introduces himself to Sesotho poetry followers whom he refers to as “children of the same pouch”.
The imagery of the Basotho nation carried by a single mother on her back in the same pouch made of eland skin is the nub of Lelosa’s songs, which are highly blended with Sesotho praise poetry.

The 29-year-old Lelosa’s new hit song, Phato, released to mark Basotho’s traditional first month of the year (August), is the epitome of how the Sesotho musician is blending traditional music with modern styles to adequately portray the changing culture of Basotho.
In the song, Lelosa eloquently conjures up the nostalgic memories of Basotho people as they drive oxen to the fields to till the land for summer cropping.
“Ntho ena ke Phato ea makoatle pulula marole (This is August of puffs of dust, blower of dust).” This is Lelosa as he interjects with the poem’s first stanza, just as the harmonious interaction of supporting vocalists is about to end the first part of the song.

Lelosa’s music, highly blended with original Basotho praise poetry, brings values articulately prepared for a modern-day Mosotho but seeking to instil in the listener the identity of the Mosotho of the past.
The image displayed in the Phato song is that of men in the old Lesotho of Moshoeshoe as they prepare farming implements in the morning, in a village nestled on the slope of a mountain.
The men are seen early at dawn driving their oxen to the fields. Behind them is the sequence of clouds of dust from animals’ hoofs, raised to the sky by the strong winds of August.
A social anthropologist who taught in Lesotho decades ago, Robin Wells, had this to say about the Sesotho language regarding its harmony in poetry and song:

“The nature of Sesotho language itself affords the potential for a richly rhythmical poetry through its system of grammatical agreement. The majority of noun classes in Sesotho demand concords in the adjectival case which are phonetically similar to the noun prefix.”
This quality is exhibited in Lelosa’s songs. Leveraging on the language that is itself musical, he sings Phato in a simple but richly used Sesotho language.
“Liphali li tla jabela lipholo ka mahetleng (whips will beat oxen on the shoulders),” he goes. But now the focus is on the use of language.
The prefixes ‘li’ in liphali (whips) li tla (will) and lipholo (oxen) make a sound in the song that gives it that needed elements before Lelosa ushers in the next stanza in the poem.

Thari-ea-Tšephe, his self-given music name, officially released the Phato album this week, the first under his newly-found troupe Bana ba Thari (Children of the same pouch or the same womb) and it is already trending in the market.
The album is meant to celebrate the beginning of the Basotho year, the festive season and to embrace the Sesotho culture and values.
Lelosa’s followers had been long waiting for the release of Phato after teasers ran on many local radio stations, ‘tickling’ ears with the harmoniously joined together melodies and deep, but simple Sesotho poetry.

The record is a follow-up to his 2015 self-titled EP and marks the release of the first single from the album, Phato.
Lelosa deems himself the legitimate heir of the lithoko or praise poetry tribe, a passionate artist with praise poetry uniquely infused in AfroJazz music — a culture-driven style.
He recorded all of Bana Ba Thari album tracks in BK’s studio in Maseru, working with SaMoqhRa as his producer.
The album features musical giants such as Tlali-Mothoana, Thaathe, and melodious female, Mosimoli.
The bass guitarist, Mega, proved his skill on songs like Phato, Litau, and Lesotho.
Bana Ba Thari is composed of 10 tracks that Lelosa wrote over just one month.

Throughout this new album, his relaxing praise poetry style remains present yet matured, with a more refined worldview.
Having successfully completed the album, Lelosa and his team will now sell the album through flash drives encrypted to be non-rewritable.
Lelosa told thepost that “in this way it will be difficult, if not impossible, for pirates to steal my music”.
“This is because we now live in the modern world where CD’s are slowly fading away,” he said.
“Truly, we didn’t expect the whole album to turn out so well, especially having in mind that we have been recording it in the midst of Covid,” he said in a statement released earlier.

“The new songs are inspired by some great life-changing events in my life, including a glimpse to my past – my real roots.”
While each song varies in tone, they all are originals and circle back to one universal theme.
“Bana Ba Thari is a poetry-filled, catchy collection of reminders that our cultural roots, love, harmony, diversity, and unity can co-exist in our modern world”, he said.
Lelosa is not singing a ‘Sothofied’ hip-hop or RnB but Afro-jazz that is preserving the Basotho oral poetry, the lithoko or praise poems, the lifela (poems of travellers) and the liboko or family odes.
Proud of being a direct descendant of Lethole, the 18th to 19th century chief of his Makhoakhoa clan, Lelosa says his lithoko do not praise war like his forefathers did.

In those years the lithoko were inspired by the wars a chief fought and won against his enemies or those he raided their cattle.
His great grandfather Lethole’s praise poem goes like this: “The shooting Lethole, the one shooting at people’s cattle while shooting he raided the pack animals.”
It is a self-praise poem that shows how Lethole shot arrows, for in his time Basotho had no guns, at a community he attacked and raided their cattle.
Similarly, another of Lelosa’s ancestors Matela I son of Lethole who lived in the late 19th century, said in his poem: “Go and tell ’Mota (chief of the Batlokoa), that an elephant is waiting at his cattle post, it is waiting with its long sharp horns, with sharpened horns.”
Matela showed how he was waiting at ’Mota’s cattle post to raid his livestock, his spears likened to the long, sharp horns of an elephant.
“I am proud of my ancestors who have their own praise poems,” Lelosa told thepost.

However, his own poems are not based on wars because he lives today when war is looked upon with contempt and his praise poems are rather inspired by socio-economic and political situations.
His songs are displaying the changing socio-economic-political conditions, brought by what others call civilisation while others say it is colonialism that made Africans disdain their own origins.
Lelosa blames Christianity for “the waning of appreciation of our African identity in favour of what the West regards best for mankind”.
“It is Christianity that has brought all this and because of this we have lost our national identity as Africans, as Basotho,” he said, referring to every black African as a Mosotho.
He says it is high time Basotho go back to their roots and appreciate what their forefathers fought and lived for.
Through song, Lelosa hopes to achieve this attitude towards Africanism.

Caswell Tlali

News

Knives out for Molelle

Published

2 days 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

2 days 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

2 days 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