|
The
problem
of
salary
demands
had
been
one
which
had
dogged
the
Lesotho
Government
since
it
had
assumed
office.
Teachers
had
in
fact
gone
on
strike
during
1994
at
the
very
time
when
the
Government
had
been
temporarily
displaced
by
King
Letsie
III.
A
settlement
with
the
teachers
had
been
later
negotiated
on
very
generous
terms,
indeed
with
an
extraordinary
80%
increase
in
salary.
This
increase
had
been
actually
implemented
in
February
1995.
Recognised
teachers,
whether
serving
in
government
or
mission
schools,
are
paid
by
government
and
their
remuneration
forms
a
large
part
of
the
total
government
salaries
bill.
However,
Lesotho
does
not
have
complete
freedom
in
monetary
matters
because
it
is
subjected
to
an
Enhanced
Structural
Adjustment
Programme
by
the
International
Monetary
Fund.
As
reported
by
the
Prime
Minister
in
Parliament
on
19
April
1995,
the
large
increase
for
teachers
was
a
mistake
that
went
unnoticed
by
civil
servants,
but
not
by
the
IMF.
It
could
not
be
allowed
to
continue
and
teachers
were
to
get
only
15%.
This
announcement
caused
dismay,
and
on
8
May
occasioned
a
resumption
of
strike
action
by
teachers.
This
was
just
one
of
a
number
of
strikes
which
occurred
during
this
period.
Others
who
had
taken
strike
action
included
University
lecturers,
and
nurse
aides
in
hospitals.
Civil
servants
in
May
learned
that
they
were
to
receive
a
15%
pay
increase,
so
that
they
received
the
same
benefit
as
teachers.
However,
the
police
and
defence
forces
(who
had
had
a
60%
rise
after
the
police
strike
in
1994)
learned
that
they
were
not
to
receive
any
increase.▲back
to
top
On
Monday
22
May
the
police
announced
that
with
effect
from
that
day,
they
were
going
to
work
limited
hours,
and
would
undertake
no
police
duties
except
between
8
a.
m.
and
4
p.
m.
The
same
afternoon,
after
4
p.
m.,
a
number
of
shops
in
Maseru
and
Mafeteng
were
attacked
by
looters.
At
the
Hyperama
clothing
shop
near
the
Old
Bus
Station
in
Maseru,
security
guards
shot
dead
two
youths
who
were
said
to
be
looters.
The
guards,
however,
soon
afterwards
themselves
fled
from
the
large
crowd,
allowing
the
shop
to
be
looted
for
the
fourth
time
in
some
5
years.
Only
after
the
stock
had
gone
did
units
of
the
army
mount
guard
at
the
store.
A
police
spokesman,
Lieutenant
Phakiso
Molise,
speaking
on
behalf
of
the
striking
police,
announced
that
the
police
wanted
the
same
15%
rise
granted
to
other
public
sector
employees,
a
rise
which
had
followed
a
modest
10%
rise
which
had
been
granted
to
public
sector
employees
the
previous
year.
On
Monday
5
June,
the
police
stepped
up
action
and
mounted
roadblocks
throughout
the
country,
searching
every
vehicle
and
its
occupants
extremely
slowly.
Any
one
travelling
by
car
on
that
day
was
held
up
for
hours
at
a
time,
and
most
people
in
Maseru
arrived
at
work
late
or
not
at
all.
Later
the
same
day
it
was
announced
that
the
police
too
would
be
getting
the
15%
salary
rise,
paid
retrospective
to
1st
April,
and
the
police
thereafter
resumed
normal
working
hours.
▲back
to
top
The
recommendations
of
the
12-member
Commission
of
Inquiry
into
the
Defence
Force
meanwhile
became
increasingly
public
knowledge.
A
delegation
from
South
Africa,
Botswana
and
Zimbabwe
had
visited
Lesotho
early
in
April,
and
following
this
a
Steering
Group
had
been
set
up
to
provide
oversight
of
the
implementation
process.
The
Steering
Group’s
members
included
the
Commander
of
the
Lesotho
Defence
Force
(which
had
deliberately
dropped
the
Royal
from
its
name
in
1994),
a
legal
adviser,
a
liaison
officer
from
the
Prime
Minister’s
Office,
and
representation
from
the
three
countries
outside
Lesotho
who
had
provided
original
membership
of
the
Commission
of
Inquiry.
The
British
Adviser
to
the
Ministry
of
Defence
was
also
to
be
a
consultant
to
the
Steering
Group.
Amongst
developments
which
became
known
was
that
former
Lesotho
Liberation
Army
members
were
being
offered
paid
posts
as
‘reconciliation
officers’
in
an
effort
to
rehabilitate
them.
Other
planned
developments
to
downsize
the
army
appeared
in
a
secret
document
written
by
the
Principal
Secretary
in
the
Ministry
of
Defence,
Mr.
A.
N.
Ncholu,
which
was
printed
by
Mopheme
in
its
issue
of
27
June
1995.
At
a
Press
Conference
on
3
July,
Mr.
Tom
Thabane,
Adviser
in
the
Prime
Minister’s
Office
reprimanded
journalists
for
improperly
obtaining
and
publishing
confidential
government
materials.
The
Steering
Group
meanwhile
faced
another
problem
in
that
the
leader
of
the
BNP,
Retšelisitsoe
Sekhonyana
on
20
June
filed
a
High
Court
case
against
the
Prime
Minister,
alleging
that
the
Steering
Group
and
its
mandate
were
ultra
vires.▲back
to
top
Early
in
May,
the
BCP
Government
lost
another
of
its
MPs.
Mohapinyane
Mosehle,
MP
for
Boleka,
had
allegedly
shot
and
injured
two
village
boys
who
he
believed
were
stealing
maize
from
his
fields
at
Ha
Ramokoatsi
in
Mafeteng
District.
The
police
had
then
arrested
Mosehle,
and
impounded
his
firearm,
but
released
him
on
bail
when
he
complained
of
suffering
from
ulcers.
On
his
return
to
his
house,
he
was
attacked
by
a
group
of
seven
youths
from
the
village
and
was
killed.
As
a
result,
there
were
now
bye-elections
pending
in
two
of
the
65
constituencies,
namely
the
Hlotse
Constituency
of
Selometsi
Baholo
and
the
Boleka
Constituency.▲back
to
top
Relations
with
South
Africa
meanwhile
became
linked
to
developments
which
also
appeared
to
have
embarrassing
aspects
for
the
ruling
party.
As
reported
in
the
police
newspaper,
Leseli
ka
Sepolesa
of
16th
April
1995,
and
considerably
later
in
Lesotho
Today
of
11
May
1995,
three
caches
of
arms
had
been
found
at
Motimposo
near
Maseru,
and
at
Ha
Lesiamo
and
St.
Monica
in
Leribe
District.
The
arms
included
rockets,
machine
guns,
and
ammunition,
as
well
as
caltrops
to
puncture
vehicle
tyres.
Subsequent
to
this,
the
National
Security
Service
had
detained
the
MP
for
Maputsoe,
Lebenya
Chakela,
for
questioning,
and
three
members
of
the
South
African
African
People’s
Liberation
Army
(APLA)
were
arrested
in
connection
with
the
arms.
A
NSS
statement
which
became
available
early
in
June
provided
an
alleged
sequence
of
events
which
they
had
uncovered,
beginning
with
the
despatch
of
four
APLA
members
to
Lesotho
in
1994,
who
were
to
report
to
Chakela
and
subsequently
to
be
engaged
on
a
secret
operation
to
train
BCP
youths
so
that
they
could
be
used
against
the
Lesotho
armed
forces,
because
these
were
not
loyal
to
the
government.
The
NSS
statement
(printed
in
Mopheme
of
6
June
1995)
alleged
that
Lebenya
Chakela
had
admitted
the
secret
operation
and
had
implicated
three
other
MPs,
including
the
late
Mohapinyane
Mosehle.
The
NSS
statement
also
stated
that
they
had
a
complete
list
of
the
BCP
youth
who
had
been
trained
by
the
APLA
members,
and
some
had
been
involved
in
a
recent
petrol
bomb
attack
against
villagers
at
Matukeng,
south
of
Maseru.
The
NSS
also
deplored
that
the
three
arrested
APLA
men
were
to
be
deported,
thereby
‘frustrating
their
whole
operation’.
Observers
noted
as
significant
in
regard
to
these
allegations
that
although
Lebenya
Chakela
had
been
cheered
in
Parliament
after
release
from
the
NSS,
he
had
not
made
any
statement
denying
the
charges
made
by
the
NSS.
Shortly
after
it
had
issued
its
statement,
on
8th
June,
the
NSS
mounted
a
search
of
the
BCP
Headquarters
Office
at
Casalis
House,
Maseru.
They
did
this
after
obtaining
information
from
the
detained
Executive
Secretary
of
the
party,
Molapo
Ralikhomo,
who
apparently
led
the
police
to
some
explosives
which
he
had
kept
stored
in
the
building.
Further
light
on
developments
in
relations
between
South
Africa
emerged
meanwhile
in
a
letter
from
the
Prime
Minister
to
the
King,
which
was
made
available
to
the
press
and
printed
in
Mopheme
of
13
June
1995.
The
letter
was
in
part
a
reply
to
criticism
of
the
Government
which
had
been
made
to
the
King
in
a
note
sent
by
opposition
leaders.
In
his
letter,
Dr.
Mokhehle
touched
on
a
wide
range
of
matters
of
current
importance
in
Lesotho,
and
referred
in
particular
to
a
meeting
he
had
had
with
President
Mandela
on
11th
May.
This
had
dealt
with
two
matters
in
particular.
One
was
the
proposed
visit
of
Nelson
Mandela
to
Lesotho,
and
the
other
was
President
Mandela’s
role
in
dissuading
the
Maseru
lawyer,
Thabang
Khauoe,
from
proceeding
with
a
High
Court
case
which
was
likely
to
show
that
King
Moshoeshoe
II’s
reinstallation
was
unconstitutional,
and
all
subsequent
legislation
signed
by
the
King
invalid.
Dr.
Mokhehle’s
letter
also
threw
light
on
the
APLA
members
who
were
allegedly
in
Lesotho.
He
confirmed
that
they
were
to
be
deported,
and
the
government
disassociated
itself
from
illegal
acts
which
were
now
in
the
hands
of
the
police.
The
Prime
Minister
supported
the
police
investigations,
but
said
that
Government
was
perturbed
that
the
NSS
was
operating
completely
outside
normal
command
channels,
and
in
particular
had
arrested
two
MPs,
as
well
as
reconciliation
officers
‘who
are
now
in
detention
against
the
law’.▲back
to
top
The
events
involving
APLA
members
in
Lesotho
brought
into
focus
problems
which
might
arise
because
of
the
lack
of
an
Extradition
Treaty
between
Lesotho
and
South
Africa.
It
was
announced
that
such
a
treaty
would
be
signed
on
Tuesday
20
June.
It
is
probable
that
the
government
had
no
inkling
of
the
group
which
would
oppose
this
treaty.
On
Monday
19
June
continuing
into
Tuesday,
taxi
drivers
staged
a
major
demonstration
in
Maseru.
It
appeared
that
they
were
opposing
the
Extradition
Treaty
on
the
grounds
that
since
many
of
them
were
driving
vehicles
stolen
from
South
Africa,
they
were
likely
to
be
extradited
to
face
charges
across
the
border!
The
demonstration
did
not
continue
beyond
Tuesday
and
the
Treaty
was
duly
signed
as
planned
by
the
Lesotho
Minister
of
Justice,
Kelebone
Maope
and
his
South
African
counterpart,
Dullah
Omar.
▲back
to
top
Serious
crime,
frequently
involving
deaths,
had
for
a
long
time
been
a
problem
in
Lesotho.
A
case
which
focused
attention
on
this,
because
the
victims
were
prominent
people,
was
the
disappearence
on
the
afternoon
of
21st
June
of
Armstrong
Moeketsi,
Technical
Education
Inspector,
and
’Mamolulela
Mofolo,
Nursery
Education
Officer
in
the
Ministry
of
Education.
They
had
left
the
Ministry
by
car,
apparently
on
the
way
to
Ladybrand.
The
car
seems
never
to
have
crossed
the
border
while
they
were
in
it,
and
they
were
found
dead
in
a
ditch
at
Ha
Lumisi
beside
the
main
road
to
Mafeteng
the
following
day.
It
was
reported
later
that
suspects
including
a
white
man
had
been
arrested.▲back
to
top
Meanwhile,
repercussions
from
the
APLA
case
continued.
The
20
June
issue
of
Mopheme
reported
the
Minister
of
Agriculture,
Ntsukunyane
Mphanya
as
stating
that
more
than
40
members
of
the
BCP
had
fled
Lesotho
to
South
Africa
‘because
they
were
harassed’.
The
same
newspaper
reported
that
three
persons
involved
had
appeared
before
magistrates
and
found
guilty,
although
the
exact
charges
and
penalties
were
not
mentioned.▲back
to
top |
