|
SUMMARY
OF
EVENTS
IN
LESOTHO
Volume
9,
Number
2, (Second Quarter 2002)
Summary
of
Events
is
a
quarterly
publication
compiled
and
published
by
Prof.
David
Ambrose
since
1993
at
the
National
University
of
Lesotho
in
Roma.
Privatisation
of
Agricultural
Enterprises
Envisaged
Lesotho Sport and Recreation Act 2002 Gazetted and in Operation
Ombudsman Retires
New Bus Station Opened in Maseru
New Community Councils Gazetted
Japanese Fund New Building at the National Teacher Training College
Chinese Provide Aid to Bochabela Primary School in Mafeteng
FIFA President Visits Lesotho
Speedy Court Trials Act 2002 Gazetted
New IPA Members sworn in
British High Commissioner leaves Lesotho
Masechele Khaketla Honoured by her Alma Mater
Tour de Lesotho held on 23 April 2002
Inflation Rises to 12.9 %
Public Eye Newspaper and National University of Lesotho at Loggerheads
Members
of
Defence
Force
Charged
with
Deputy
Prime
Minister's
Murder
and
Kidnapping
Father Monyau Charged with Treason
State of Famine Proclaimed
Expatriate Teachers Unable to Obtain Work Permits
Econet Ezi Cel Lesotho Begins Operations
Lesotho and South Africa Sign Joint Cooperation Agreement
Unclaimed Corpses Buried by Convicts
Nineteen Political Parties to Contest the General Election
James Motlatsi now Deputy Chairman of AngloGold
Members of Defence Force Gaoled for Burning Ministers Houses
Prime Minister Inaugurates Three Nature Reserves
Parties
Hold
Final
Election
Rallies
Masupha
Sole
Guilty
in
Bribery
Case
Record Number of Parties Produce Manifestos
IEC Explains New Voting System to Electors
TCL Reduces Telephone Tariffs
Industrial Park to be Constructed in Butha Buthe
Exploitation in Lesotho Textile Factories
Election
Day
Relatively
Uneventful
Individual Constituency Results Range from Clear Victories to Minority Votes
Unexpected Election Outcome as Doves Mistaken for Eagles
Proportional Representation Provides 10 Parties with Parliamentary Seats
Voter Turnout 68.1%
International Observers Find Elections Free and Fair
Compensatory Seats Spring a Few Surprises
Prime Minister Unseated within Seconds of Being Sworn In
WFP and FAO Estimate Cereal Supply for 2001/2 at 74 000 Tons
Southern Star Ceases Publication
Parliamentarians and Members of New Cabinet Sworn In
Post Office Savings Bank to be Re-established
According
to
an
issue
of
the
Lesotho
Government
Gazette
of
8
February
2002,
which
became
available
in
April,
the
Privatisation
Unit
is
considering
the
possibility
of
restructuring
and
involving
private
sector
participation
in
a
range
of
agricultural
enterprises
which
at
present
fall
under
the
Ministry
of
Agriculture.
16
different
enterprises
are
listed
including
the
Feedlot
adjoining
the
abattoir;
the
poultry
plant
at
the
University’s
Faculty
of
Agriculture
formerly
the
Lesotho
Agricultural
College;
the
Mejametalana
Vegetable
Farm
originally
established
with
Taiwanese
help;
the
National
Pig
Breeding
Herd
at
Bot’shabelo;
the
Basotho
Pony
Stud
Farm
at
Thaba
Tseka
and
the
Molimo
Nthuse
Pony
Trekking
Project
both
established
with
Irish
assistance;
the
Litlama
Vegetable
Farm
at
Mafeteng;
the
Kholo
Fish
Farm;
the
Merino
Sheep
Stud
Farms
at
Mokhotlong
and
Moyeni
both
established
with
South
African
assistance;
the
Technical
Operations
Unit
which
includes
operations
in
each
district;
the
seven
Farmer
Training
Centres
in
six
different
districts
(Quthing
has
two
centres
at
Moyeni
and
Mphaki
while
Butha
Buthe,
Leribe
and
Mafeteng
do
not
have
centres);
the
tree
nurseries,
woodlots
and
sales
yards
throughout
Lesotho;
the
Veterinary
Services
in
each
of
the
districts;
and
the
95
Wool
and
Mohair
Marketing
Sheds
distributed
throughout
Lesotho.
The
enterprises
advertised
span
many
of
the
Ministry
of
Agriculture’s
current
operations.
If
privatised,
they
would
lead
to
an
enormous
cutback
in
the
Ministry’s
staff,
but
at
the
same
time,
since
most
of
the
operations
are
not
financially
viable,
they
could
lead
to
major
cost
savings.
It
is
not
clear
at
this
point
what
entrepreneurs
might
be
interested
in
the
enterprises.
Many
would
seem
suitable
for
local
ownership,
but
the
privatisation
unit
in
practice
has
found
few
persons
with
sufficient
capital
to
participate
in
the
privatisation
process,
so
that
the
ownership
of
already
privatised
industries
is
mainly
in
foreign
hands,
which
of
course
means
that
profits
mainly
benefit
non-nationals.
▲back
to top
Act
no.
3
of
2002,
the
Lesotho
Sport
and
Recreation
Act
2002
came
into
force
on
publication
in
the
Lesotho
Government
Gazette
on
21
February
2002,
although
it
was
over
a
month
later
that
printed
copies
of
this
gazette
were
generally
available.
It
sets
out
inter
alia
the
responsibilities
of
the
Department
of
Sport
under
the
Ministry
of
Tourism,
Sports
Culture,
which
include
in
conjunction
with
the
Ministry
of
Education
making
arrangements
for
the
establishment
of
departments
of
physical
education
and
sport
at
universities
and
other
institutions
of
higher
learning.
Most
of
the
Act
is
concerned
with
the
establishment
of
a
Lesotho
Sport
and
Recreation
Commission
(LSRC),
a
body
corporate,
with
a
President
and
General
Secretary
and
15
members
elected
by
a
General
Assembly
of
all
registered
sports
associations
in
Lesotho,
these
15
members
being
required
to
represent
different
constituencies
including
women
in
sport,
the
disabled,
registered
sports
associations,
the
National
Olympic
Committee,
educational
institutions,
and
traditional
games.
The
Act
sets
out
19
different
functions
for
the
Commission,
ranging
from
providing
leadership
in
the
development
of
sport
and
recreation
in
Lesotho
to
promoting
traditional
games
as
part
of
sport
and
recreation.
The
maintaining
and
approving
of
sports
records
is
not
specifically
mentioned
anywhere
in
the
Act
although
is
not
excluded
by
it,
so
that
it
is
not
clear
whether
at
some
point
in
the
future
official
Lesotho
athletics
records,
for
example,
will
be
established.
At
present,
it
seems
no
one
knows
to
give
a
couple
of
examples
what
the
Lesotho
100
metres
or
high
jump
records
are,
unless
they
appear
as
published
performances
and
even
these
do
not
seem
to
have
been
collated
of
Lesotho
athletes
in
international
competitions.
The
new
LSRC
replaces
the
Lesotho
Sports
Council
LSC
which
had
many
of
the
same
powers
and
functions
of
the
LSRC,
and
had
been
established
by
Order
no.
41
of
1970.
The
LSC
in
turn
had
replaced
a
non
statutory
Lesotho
Sports
Association,
which
had
been
a
registered
society
with
its
own
Constitution.
The
new
Act
requires
the
LSRC
to
adopt
its
own
Constitution
as
soon
as
is
practicable
.
G
Commissions
and
similar
bodies
corporate
under
the
Ministry
of
Tourism,
Sports
and
Culture
s
have
had
a
chequered
career.
The
Tourist
Board
was
recently
dissolved,
although
later
revived
pending
Z
implementation
of
the
new
Tourism
Act
2002
Act
no.
4
of
2002
and
not
yet
in
operation
which
makes
A
É
provision
for
a
Lesotho
Tourism
Development
Corporation
with
its
own
Board
of
Directors.
Three
other
bodies
are
in
limbo,
because
although
they
exist
as
statutory
bodies,
they
have
no
members.
This
is
because
the
Ministry
has
neglected
to
appoint
new
members
when
the
five
year
terms
of
service
of
previously
serving
members
had
elapsed.
These
bodies
are
the
Archives
Commission,
the
Board
of
Trustees
of
the
Lesotho
National
Museum
and
the
Protection
Preservation
Commission
which
is
responsible
for
national
monuments
and
protected
flora
and
fauna.
Neither
the
Lesotho
National
Archives
nor
the
Lesotho
National
Museum
are
currently
in
an
operational
state.
▲back
to top
The
first
Ombudsman
of
the
Kingdom
of
Lesotho,
whose
post
was
created
in
the
1993
Constitution,
retired
on
28
February
2002.
The
retiring
ombudsman
was
Henry
Mohale
Ntsaba
,
who
retired
at
the
age
of
77.
Born
in
Mokhotlong
District
in
1925,
H.
M.
Ntsaba
achieved
a
BA
degree
from
Fort
Hare
in
1945.
He
joined
the
then
Basutoland
service
in
1962
as
an
assistant
secretary
in
the
office
of
the
Resident
Commissioner,
and
became
the
first
Mosotho
Permanent
Secretary
in
the
Ministry
of
Public
Works.
He
resigned
from
this
post
in
the
1970s
when
he
felt
he
could
not
continue
to
serve
the
non-democratic
government.
During
his
period
of
office,
the
Ombudsman
Act
1996
and
the
Ombudsman
Rules
2000
were
gazetted.
His
office
also,
unlike
many
government
departments,
produced
annual
reports
with
details
of
work
accomplished.
The
Acting
Ombudsman
who
has
replaced
H.
M.
Ntsaba
is
Semenekane
Moorosi
.
▲back
to top
A
new
bus
station
at
Thibella
adjoining
the
new
Sefika
Mall
Shopping
Centre
was
officially
opened
on
Wednesday
27
March.
It
is
designed
to
reduce
congestion
in
the
crowded
Pitso
Ground
Area
where
buses
share
their
terminus
with
crowded
streets.
Taxis
were
at
first
reluctant
to
move
so
far
from
the
traditional
shopping
area
but
by
mid
May
some
of
the
best
known
taxi
routes,
such
as
the
Roma
taxis
had
moved
there.
Passengers,
however,
in
some
cases
preferred
to
use
alternative
long
distance
buses
serving
the
same
routes
rather
than
to
walk
to
the
new
bus
station
which
is
about
500
metres
distant.
▲back
to top
Community
Councils
had
for
some
time
been
envisaged
as
the
appropriate
structure
for
rural
local
government,
and
had
been
embodied
in
the
Local
Government
Act
1997.
However,
there
had
been
long
delays
in
bringing
the
Act
into
operation,
and
as
a
result
late
in
2001,
the
Ministry
of
Local
Government
,
went
ahead
and
organized
local
elections
through
transitional
arrangements,
giving
as
reason
that
the
Independent
Electoral
Commission,
which
was
mandated
to
run
local
elections,
was
too
busy
to
do
so
because
it
was
running
the
General
Election.
The
Lesotho
Government
Gazette
Extraordinary
(nowadays
and
unnecessarily
there
are
more
Extraordinary
issues
of
LGG
than
regular
issues)
of
8
April
2002
listed
the
persons
appointed
to
Community
Councils
with
effect
from
1
April
2002.
Each
Council
is
required
by
the
Local
Government
Act
1997
to
have
between
9
and
15
elected
members,
and
not
more
than
two
chiefs
who
are
also
elected.
There
are
also
supposed
to
be
not
less
than
17
and
not
more
than
21
Community
Councils
per
district.
The
actual
numbers
gazetted
are
Maseru
(18),
Leribe
(21),
Butha
Buthe
(17),
Mokhotlong
(20),
Thaba
Tseka
(20),
Qacha's
Nek
(19),
Quthing
(20),
Mohale's
Hoek
(17)
and
Mafeteng
(20).
Berea
District
has
been
left
out
of
the
list
for
reasons
unstated.
The
requirement
that
the
number
of
community
councils
be
in
the
narrow
range
17
to
21
seems
to
have
been
an
oversight
on
the
part
of
the
consultant
who
drafted
the
Act,
and
by
Parliament
itself
in
passing
it.
The
largest
districts
in
Lesotho
have
rural
populations
more
than
three
times
the
population
of
the
smallest.
They
also
have
areas
more
than
twice
as
large.
Thus
it
hardly
seems
appropriate,
to
take
one
example,
that
Qacha's
Nek
has
19
community
councils,
whereas
neighbouring
Thaba
Tseka
with
twice
the
population
and
twice
the
area
has
at
20
almost
the
same
number.
▲back
to top
The
Prime
Minister,
Pakalitha
Mosisili,
on
11
April
2002,
inaugurated
at
the
National
Teacher
Training
College
in
Maseru
a
M50
million
two
storey
multi
purpose
building
comprising
laboratories
and
workshop
facilities
for
mathematics,
science
and
home
economics.
The
building
was
funded
by
the
Government
of
Japan
under
its
Grant
Aid
Scheme,
and
the
Japanese
Ambassador
to
Lesotho,
Yasukuni
Enoki
,
also
spoke
at
the
occasion.
He
indicated
that
his
country
had
been
supporting
a
number
of
initiatives
in
Lesotho
in
the
field
of
education
including
the
introduction
of
free
primary
education.
▲back
to top
Five
new
classrooms
were
opened
at
Bochabela
Primary
School
near
Mafeteng
on
22
March
2002.
According
to
a
report
in
Southern
Star
of
12
April
2002,
the
classrooms
were
constructed
by
the
China
State
Construction
Company
at
a
cost
of
M350
000,
and
the
school
was
now
renamed
as
the
Lesotho
China
Friendship
Primary
School
.
According
to
the
newspaper
report,
the
ceremony
was
slightly
marred
by
a
disagreement
between
the
church
which
owned
the
school
and
government
representatives,
the
school
being
used
as
a
place
of
worship
on
Sundays.
The
church
believed
it
was
in
charge
of
proceedings,
and
should
be
regarded
as
hosts,
while
the
government
representatives
were
its
guests.
As
a
result
of
the
disagreement
the
programme
was
changed
at
the
last
moment
and
the
proceedings
began
late.
Speaking
on
the
occasion
of
the
opening
were
the
local
chief;
the
Minister
of
Environment,
Gender
and
Youth
Affairs,
Mrs
Mathabiso
Lepono
,
in
whose
constituency,
Likhoele,
the
school
is
situated;
and
the
Minister
of
Education,
Mr
Lesao
Lehohla,
from
the
nearby
constituency
of
Mafeteng.
▲back
to top
The
President
of
the
world
football
body,
FIFA,
Sepp
Blatter,
visited
Lesotho
briefly
on
Sunday
7
April
2002
to
open
the
new
FIFA
sponsored
sports
arena
at
the
former
Polo
Ground
in
Maseru.
The
new
sports
arena
has
cost
M8.8
million
of
FIFA
and
Lesotho
money,
and
was
formally
named
by
Sepp
Blatter
the
Bambatha
T'sita
Sports
Arena,
after
the
first
President
of
the
Lesotho
Football
Association
(LEFA)
.
Bambatha
T'sita
died
in
1996,
and
his
funeral
is
well
remembered
by
those
who
attended,
because
both
his
widows
provided
food,
lijo
tsa
lefu,
at
their
houses
in
Maseru,
and
those
expressing
condolences
to
his
family
were
able
to
go
from
one
meal
to
the
other.
Sepp
Blatter
visited
Lesotho
at
a
time
when
his
name
was
attracting
considerable
attention
in
international
media
because
of
alleged
financial
irregularities
in
FIFA.
These
had
come
to
the
fore
as
competition
was
hotting
up
for
the
presidential
election
on
the
eve
of
the
World
Cup
Competition
in
Seoul
on
29
May.
Blatter
was
standing
for
re-election
for
a
further
four
year
term
against
Camerounian
candidate
Issa
Hayatou.
In
the
event
Blatter
won
the
election
by
the
large
majority
of
139
votes
to
56.
▲back
to top
The
Speedy
Court
Trials
Act
2002
was
gazetted
and
came
into
force
on
11
April
2002.
The
Act
is
a
response
to
the
problem
that
the
legal
system
in
Lesotho
has
become
so
bureaucratic
and
inefficient
that
prisoners
can
be
awaiting
trial
for
years,
during
which
time
they
may
be
held
in
custody,
or
in
some
cases
may
be
out
on
bail,
even
when
the
crimes
are
serious
ones
such
as
murder.
Many
local
communities
have
been
destabilized
by
having
a
murder
committed
and
then
the
murderer
released
on
bail,
with
consequent
insecurity
for
persons
who
may
be
called
as
witnesses.
The
remedy
might
have
been
thought
to
have
been
the
imposition
of
more
efficiency
and
possibly
provision
of
more
staff
within
the
courts
system,
something
which
is
essentially
a
management
problem
for
the
Ministries
of
Justice
and
of
Law.
However,
after
such
reforms
had
not
been
achieved
over
a
long
time,
Parliament
passed
legislation
to
try
to
achieve
the
same
result.
Under
the
new
law,
a
person
must
be
charged
within
48
hours
of
arrest
or
service
of
a
summons,
although
this
is
weakened
by
a
proviso
that
the
charge
can
be
filed
in
the
case
of
a
complex
case
within
90
days
of
the
person
first
appearing
before
a
judicial
officer,
a
period
which
can
on
good
cause
be
extended
to
120
days.
A
person
cannot
be
remanded
in
custody
for
more
than
60
days
unless
there
are
compelling
reasons.
In
criminal
trials,
the
trial
must
begin
within
30
days
if
a
plea
of
guilty
is
entered,
and
60
days
if
a
plea
of
non
guilty
is
entered.
However,
the
Act
provides
for
a
large
number
of
periods
of
delay,
which
do
not
themselves
have
time
limits,
which
are
to
be
excluded
from
the
computation
of
the
times
for
filing
charges
or
for
trials
to
begin.
The
Act
provides
for
penalties
where
the
legal
practitioners
concerned
cause
delay
without
good
reasons.
The
penalties
are
fines
not
exceeding
M5000
or
the
denying
counsel
or
a
prosecutor
the
right
to
practice
or
appear
before
a
court
for
up
to
90
days,
something
which
presumably
might
delay
other
trials.
The
Ministers
of
Justice,
Human
Rights
and
Rehabilitation;
of
Law
and
Constitutional
Affairs;
and
of
Home
Affairs
are
required
not
later
than
31
December
of
each
year
to
prepare
and
submit
to
Parliament
reports
on
the
impact
of
the
implementation
of
the
Act
upon
the
Judiciary,
the
Office
of
the
Director
of
Public
Prosecutions,
and
the
Police
Service
respectively.
No
penalty
is
mentioned
if
they
fail
to
do
this.
It
is
a
number
of
years
since
any
of
the
three
Ministries
mentioned
in
the
Act
published
even
an
ordinary
annual
report
on
its
activities
for
the
preceding
year.
▲back
to top
The
Interim
Political
Authority
IPA,
was
in
April
suffering
considerable
loss
of
its
membership,
as
members
who
wished
to
contest
the
forthcoming
election
had
to
forfeit
their
seats.
Representatives
of
minor
parties
were
torn
between
continuing
to
receive
lucrative
remuneration
as
IPA
members,
and
standing
for
Parliament
where
they
hardly
expected
to
win
a
seat.
On
Tuesday
16
April,
seven
new
members
were
sworn
in
as
IPA
members
to
replace
election
candidates.
There
were
two
new
members
each
for
the
Lesotho
Congress
for
Democracy,
Marematlou
Freedom
Party
and
Kopanang
Basotho
Party,
and
one
for
the
Lesotho
Education
Party,
which
in
1998
had
been
the
party
with
least
support
in
the
elections,
garnering
just
91
votes.
The
IPA
also
had
to
find
a
new
secretary.
This
was
Malefetsane
Nkhahle
who
replaced
Chief
Ranthomeng
Matete,
who
was
standing
as
the
BNP
candidate
for
Matsieng
in
the
forthcoming
election.
The
IPA
will
be
automatically
dissolved
at
the
end
of
its
legal
mandate
which
continues
until
one
day
after
the
general
election
results
are
announced.
▲back
to top
Her
Excellency
Kaye
Oliver,
British
High
Commissioner
to
Lesotho,
left
Lesotho
on
16
April
2002,
after
a
three
year
tour
of
duty.
In
a
farewell
reception
at
the
High
Commissioner's
Residence,
Kent
House,
on
12
April
she
announced
that
she
was
also
retiring
from
the
diplomatic
service,
which
had
included
eighteen
years
in
Africa,
including
postings
in
Burundi,
Cameroun,
Kenya,
Malawi,
Rwanda,
Tanzania
and
Zaire
(now
the
Democratic
Republic
of
Congo).
Her
successor,
Mr
Frank
Martin,
a
Scot
who
has
previously
served
in
Angola,
Sierra
Leone
and
Denmark,
arrived
in
Lesotho
on
Thursday
18
April.
▲back
to top
The
Mosotho
author
and
educationist,
Masechele
Khaketla,
was
honoured
by
her
alma
mater,
Fort
Hare
University,
with
the
honorary
degree
of
Doctor
of
Literature
and
Philosophy
D.Litt
et
Phil.
on
19
April
2002.
The
former
Caroline
Ramolahloane,
was
born
on
New
Year's
Day
1918,
and
was
the
first
Mosotho
woman
graduate,
having
been
awarded
a
BA
by
Fort
Hare
in
1939.
Dr
Khaketla
is
the
author
of
eleven
books,
including
novels,
poetry
and
drama,
and
is
also
well
known
for
having
found
Iketsetseng
Private
School
in
Maseru
in
1962,
a
school
which
was
attended
by
King
Letsie
III.
Together
with
her
husband,
the
late
Bennett
Makalo
Khaketla,
she
has
been
a
stalwart
member
of
the
Anglican
Church
in
Lesotho.
The
National
University
of
Lesotho
had
earlier
recognized
her
achievements
by
awarding
her
the
honorary
degree
of
Doctor
of
Literature
in
1983.
▲back
to top
The
Tour
de
Lesotho,
a
recently
instituted
annual
cycle
race
between
Maseru
and
Mohale,
was
held
for
the
third
time
on
13
April
2002.
Although
it
is
a
misnomer,
being
neither
a
race
around
Lesotho
nor
like
the
Tour
de
France,
a
multistage
race,
the
name
seems
to
have
stuck.
In
reality
the
race
is
86
km
along
the
newly
reconstructed
tarred
road
to
Mohale
Village,
site
of
Lesotho's
Mohale
Dam,
now
nearing
completion.
Starting
at
the
Maseru
suburb
of
Thetsane
at
about
1540
metres
above
sea
level,
the
race
route
is
at
first
fairly
level,
but
later
climbs
over
three
mountain
passes,
the
highest
being
Blue
Mountain
Pass
at
2633
metres,
possibly
the
highest
point
in
any
competitive
cycle
race
in
the
world.
For
those
lacking
the
stamina
needed
to
complete
the
whole
race,
there
is
a
shorter
finishing
point
along
the
route
at
Setibing,
shortly
after
the
first
pass,
Bushmen's
Pass,
58
km
from
the
starting
point.
The
86
km
race
was
won
for
the
third
time
by
Malcolm
Lange
in
2
hours
40
minutes.
The
first
Lesotho
citizen
to
cross
the
finishing
line
was
Khotso
Ntsema
in
3
hours
19
minutes;
and
the
first
woman
cyclist
to
cross
the
finishing
line
was
Annette
Loubser
in
3
hours
32
minutes.
▲back
to top
As
reported
in
Statistical
Report
no.
4
of
2002,
annual
inflation
in
Lesotho
reached
12.9
%
in
February
2002,
a
significant
further
rise
from
January
2002,
when
it
was
recorded
at
11.0
%.
The
main
component
which
had
contributed
to
the
rise
was
a
rise
of
39.8
%
in
bread
and
cereal
prices,
which
in
turn
seem
to
have
particularly
suffered
from
the
rise
in
the
price
of
maize
meal,
in
which,
following
the
collapse
of
agricultural
exports
from
Zimbabwe,
the
region
is
no
longer
self-sufficient
and
therefore
has
to
buy
on
the
World
market.
Meanwhile
inflation
or
the
ignoring
of
it
was
playing
a
part
in
the
election
campaign.
The
BNP
newspaper
Mohlanka,
under
a
front
page
heading
Matona
le
Maparamente
a
nyafutsa
(Ministers
and
parliamentarians
have
enriched
themselves
several
times)
printed
a
table
showing
the
comparative
salaries
of
the
Heads
of
Government,
Ministers,
and
Members
of
Parliament
under
previous
regimes,
including
the
BNP
government
and
the
Military
Government.
For
example,
Dr
Jonathan
in
1965
as
Prime
Minister
was
said
to
receive
M520.83
per
month;
Major
General
Lekhanya
in
1986,
M3333.30
per
month;
Dr
Mokhele
in
1993,
M8893.00
per
month;
and
Mr
Mosisili
in
1998,
M12
649.16
per
month.
It
might
seem
that
successive
governments
had
paid
themselves
excessively
compared
with
their
predecessors.
However,
allowing
for
inflation,
Lekhanya's
1986
salary
was
in
fact
worth
only
76
%
of
Leabua
Jonathan's
salary;
Mokhehle's
salary
only
80
%;
and
Mosisili's
salary
only
75
%.
Similar
comparisons
apply
to
cabinet
ministers
and
members
of
parliament.
Of
course,
there
are
other
factors
such
as
taxation,
allowances
etc,
but
the
BNP's
apparent
claim
that
recent
governments
have
greatly
enriched
themselves
compared
to
that
of
the
old
BNP
government
of
Leabua
Jonathan
is
obviously
false.
According
to
Legal
Notice
no.
73
of
2002,
the
Prime
Minister
and
other
parliamentarians
will
receive
an
approximately
10
%
increase
with
effect
from
1
April
2002.
However,
given
that
the
last
rise
was
in
1998,
it
will
be
seen
that,
in
common
with
the
rest
of
the
civil
service
which
had
received
2%
followed
by
8%
in
the
same
period,
their
salaries
will
not
have
kept
pace
with
recent
inflation.
▲back
to top
The
newspaper,
Public
Eye
,
in
its
issue
of
15
March
2002
had
come
out
with
a
front
page
headline
"Sex
scandal
hits
NUL".
Under
the
headline,
was
a
story
by
the
journalist
Moeti
Thelejane
alleging
that
the
Pro
Vice
Chancellor,
Dr
Nqosa
Mahao,
had
thrown
the
country's
only
university
into
a
steaming
sex
scandal
that
has
culminated
into
an
investigation
by
a
Commission
of
Inquiry
into
allegations
that
he
sexually
assaulted
his
secretary
.
The
article
resulted
in
the
Vice
Chancellor,
Dr
T.
H.
Mothibe,
making
a
statement
to
a
news
conference,
a
statement
which
was
printed
in
the
university's
weekly
newsletter,
Information
Flash
of
22
March
2002,
and
which
said
inter
alia
that
no
secretary
had
reported
she
had
been
sexually
assaulted
and
that
a
two
person
Commission
had
been
set
up
to
conduct
investigations
into
these
malicious
allegations
at
the
request
of
the
Pro
Vice
Chancellor.
The
Vice
Chancellor
also
referred
to
two
particular
developments
at
the
university,
the
forensic
investigation
into
alleged
gross
financial
malpractices
at
the
Bursary
department
and
the
transformation
process
aimed
at
redirecting
the
University's
focus
to
its
core
business,
making
programmes
relevant
to
Lesotho's
needs
and
ensuring
the
University
carries
out
its
mandate
in
a
cost
effective
manner.
The
persons
responsible
for
these
"malicious
allegations
...
are
disreputable
elements
who
are
opposed
to
these
processes".
Although
the
article
brought
forth
a
number
of
other
articles
in
the
press,
including
collective
defence
by
secretaries
of
their
reputations
and
an
extension
of
the
debate
to
some
rather
ill
tempered
exchanges
about
the
transformation
process,
the
matter
would
probably
have
died
a
natural
death
within
a
week
or
two.
However
early
in
May,
newspapers
carried
news
that
the
Pro
Vice
Chancellor,
Dr
Nqosa
Mahao,
who
is
himself
a
lawyer,
had
instituted
a
civil
summons
to
Professor
Umesh
Kumar,
Mr
Moeti
Thelejane,
Mr
Bethuel
Thai,
editor
of
Public
Eye,
Epic
Printers
and
Voice
Multimedia,
the
owners
of
Public
Eye,
for
defamation
of
character
in
the
issue
of
15
March.
As
plaintiff,
Dr
Mahao
claimed
against
the
five
defendants:
payment
of
M800
000
damages;
interest
thereon
at
the
rate
of
18.5
per
cent
annum
a
tempore
morae
i.e.
from
the
time
of
the
Public
Eye
publication;
costs
of
suit;
and
further,
and/or
alternative
relief.
The
declaration
made
to
the
High
Court
stated
inter
alia
that
the
thousands
of
people
who
read
Public
Eye
would
have
understood
the
publication
to
mean
inter
alia
that
the
Plaintiff
is
a
corrupt,
debased,
dishonest
and
immoral
criminal
with
perverse
and
degenerated
understanding
of
moral
values
and
that
the
publication
has
greatly
and
irretrievably
impaired
and
damaged
Plaintiff's
dignitas
and
fame
in
the
eyes
of
right
thinking
members
of
society
both
in
Lesotho,
Republic
of
South
Africa,
other
countries
of
Africa
and
Overseas
.
The
impending
court
case
made
certain
that
the
matter
did
not
immediately
die,
and
indeed
the
matter
even
attracted
the
attention
of
church
newspapers
which
had
ignored
the
original
story.
In
relation
to
one
of
those
mentioned
in
the
summons,
Professor
Umesh
Kumar,
Public
Eye
issued
a
statement
that
he
was
in
no
way
responsible
for
the
story
published
and
had
merely
confirmed
to
the
reporter
what
was
in
any
case
public
knowledge,
namely
that
a
Commission
of
Inquiry
had
been
set
up.
Meanwhile,
Public
Eye's
articles
on
the
University
continued.
The
10
May
issue
came
out
with
a
severely
critical
unsigned
article
"Higher
education
review:
is
the
NUL
collapsing?".
The
following
week,
a
similar
article,
this
time
concentrating
on
the
Faculty
of
Agriculture,
was
titled
"Baksheesh
at
the
Agric
College?"
Also
Moeti
Thelejane
was
seemingly
not
silenced
by
the
impending
court
action,
and
continued
to
attack
Dr
Mahao
in
the
context
of
writing
about
the
Patriotic
Front
for
Democracy
(PFD)
and
the
closely
linked
Congress
for
Lesotho
Trade
Unions
(COLETU).
In
the
24
May
issue
he
wrote:
"At
NUL
a
cold
war
is
currently
sweeping
through
campus
allegedly
perpetuated
by
former
PFD
general
secretary
Dr
Nqosa
Mahao.
This
cabal,
operating
within
the
COLETU
affiliated
Lesotho
University
Teachers
and
Researchers
Union
(LUTARU),
ousted
former
Vice
Chancellor
Maboee
Moletsane,
installed
Mahao
as
the
Acting
Vice
Chancellor,
and
influenced
the
appointment
of
Dr
Tefetso
Mothibe,
ahead
of
more
experienced
luminaries...
Mahao
and
his
close
clique
of
high-powered
communists
are
the
brains
behind
the
transformation
process,
which
has
been
criticized
by
some
quarters
of
the
political
fraternity
as
a
bid
to
perpetuate
the
PFD
agenda.
Any
opposition
is
ruthlessly
crushed,
with
scapegoats
speedily
identified,
as
LUTARU
claims
it
is
cleansing
the
university
of
corruption."
▲back
to top
The
then
Deputy
Prime
Minister,
the
late
Selometsi
Baholo,
was
murdered
at
Ha
Matala
near
Maseru
on
14
April
1994.
On
the
same
day
four
other
Cabinet
Ministers
were
kidnapped
by
soldiers,
but
later
released
unharmed.
Despite
there
having
been
eye
witnesses
and
despite
a
commission
of
inquiry
into
instability
in
the
Defence
Force
having
indicated
which
army
unit
was
responsible,
it
was
only
in
April
2002
that
charges
of
murder
and
kidnapping
were
finally
brought
against
8
soldiers.
A
further
17
soldiers
were
charged
with
kidnapping.
The
soldiers
charged
with
murder
were
remanded
in
custody.
Those
charged
with
kidnapping
were
allowed
bail
of
M250
each.
▲back
to top
As
reported
in
Public
Eye
of
26
April
2002,
Father
Anthony
Monyau
was
on
Tuesday
23
April
charged
at
the
Maseru
Magistrate's
Court
with
High
Treason,
in
that
during
1998,
he
unlawfully
and
with
a
hostile
intent,
committed
certain
hostile
acts
to
overthrow
or
coerce
the
Government
of
Lesotho.
It
was
alleged
that
he
conspired
with
members
of
the
Lesotho
Defence
Force
(LDF)
and
other
persons
unknown,
to
arrest,
detain
or
kill
senior
officers
of
the
LDF
and
members
of
the
executive
of
the
Government
of
Lesotho
with
the
aim
of
overthrowing
the
Government
of
Lesotho
.
Alternative
charges
were
laid
of
sedition
and
contravention
of
Lesotho's
internal
security
laws.
Father
Monyau
was
remanded
in
custody
for
one
night
and
released
on
bail
of
M3
000
the
following
day.
Father
Monyau
was
one
of
three
individuals
against
whom
detailed
allegations
were
listed
by
the
Leon
Commission,
which
reported
late
in
2001
on
the
events
leading
to
the
political
disturbances,
of
1998.
He
is
no
stranger
to
the
magistrate's
court
having
appeared
there
on
fraud
charges
in
the
previous
year.
This
fraud
case
is
apparently
still
pending.
▲back
to top
The
Prime
Minister,
Pakalitha
Mosisili
,
on
Monday
22
April
2002,
declared
Lesotho
to
be
in
a
state
of
famine.
Unlike
Malawi
and
Zambia,
where
drought
has
contributed
to
food
shortages,
and
Zimbabwe
where
low
rainfall
and
political
instability
have
combined
to
create
a
disaster,
in
Lesotho
the
shortage
of
food
was
attributed
to
heavy
rains
and
hailstorms
resulting
in
low
production.
As
reported
in
Mopheme
of
23
April
2002,
the
Prime
Minister
said
that
there
was
a
deficit
of
220000
tons
of
cereals,
over
50%
of
what
was
required.
The
maize
deficit
was
estimated
at
135
000
tons
and
the
wheat
deficit
at
92
000
tons.
There
was,
however,
a
surplus
production
of
9
000
tons
of
sorghum.
Overall
Lesotho's
annual
food
grain
requirements
were
400
000
tons,
and
the
estimated
supply
was
180
000
tons,
which
resulted
in
the
220
000
tons
deficit.
The
Prime
Minister
announced
that
the
World
Food
programme
and
the
Food
and
Agricultural
Organization
of
the
United
Nations
were
undertaking
detailed
surveys
to
assess
the
situation
countrywide.
While
awaiting
results,
government
has
set
aside
M23.0
million
for
immediate
intervention
through
provision
of
assistance,
supplementary
feeding
for
the
under
fives
and
subsidy
to
the
vulnerable
households
for
a
period
of
one
year
starting
May
2002.
The
government
would
provide
a
subsidy
of
20%
of
the
market
price
for
unsifted
maize
meal,
estimated
to
cost
M4
million.
Direct
food
assistance
of
maize
meal
and
beans
to
the
old,
the
sick,
orphans,
disabled
and
unemployed
was
estimated
at
M10million,
while
M5
million
was
budgeted
for
vulnerable
households
and
M5
million
for
transportation.
In
practice,
it
proved
very
difficult
to
implement
the
government's
plans
for
assistance
fairly
and
some
people
at
village
level
were
wondering
what
had
happened
to
the
assistance
promised.
What
was
very
much
apparent
to
most
of
them
was
the
rise
in
the
cash
price
of
the
staple
food,
maize
meal,
which
had
risen
from
M44
per
25
kg
bag
at
the
end
of
December
2001
to
M77
per
25
kg
bag
by
April
2002.
The
combined
economic
conditions
which
have
resulted
in
the
rise
in
the
maize
mealie
price
were,
according
to
Vernon
Wessels
writing
in
Business
Report
of
19
June
2002,
shortfalls
in
production
caused
by
land
invasions
in
Zimbabwe,
poor
crops
in
Mozambique
and
droughts
in
Malawi
and
Zambia.
The
weaker
rand
had
also
contributed
to
higher
maize
prices,
because
over
the
past
year
self
sufficiency
in
maize
had
been
lost
in
the
region,
and
maize
was
being
imported.
Looking
at
the
maize
futures
market
he
noted
that
white
maize
for
delivery
in
July
this
year
could
have
been
fixed
at
a
price
of
R835
a
ton
a
year
ago.
It
reached
a
record
high
of
R1893
a
ton
on
18
April
2002,
and
was
still
R1831
on
the
SA
Futures
Exchange
on
19
June
2002.
However
the
higher
maize
price
had
prompted
many
South
African
farmers
to
plant
more
maize.
Whether
the
price
went
up
further
or
dropped
was
dependent
on
whether
there
were
good
crops
in
South
Africa
next
year
and
in
the
meantime
whether
there
was
good
weather
in
the
United
States
corn
maize
belt
and
whether
the
rand
recovered
further
against
the
dollar.
In
many
ways
the
price
of
a
25
kg
bag
of
mealie
meal
is
one
of
the
best
indices
of
the
impact
of
inflation
in
the
country.
Many
families,
when
the
monthly
pay
packet
arrives,
or
money
is
received
from
a
migrant
worker,
go
out
and
buy
one
or
more
such
bags
from
the
nearby
store.
It
is
commonly
transported
home
by
wheelbarrow,
or
by
a
donkey,
which
if
carefully
loaded
can
carry
up
to
three
such
bags
of
mealie
meal.
There
was
some
relief
for
such
families
with
effect
from
21
May,
when
the
Government
gazetted
maximum
prices
for
unsifted
maize
meal.
The
maximum
price
for
a
25
kg
bag
was
set
at
M60,
down
from
the
general
price
of
about
M77,
but
still
much
higher
than
the
M44
it
had
been
six
months
earlier.
As
is
well
known,
Lesotho
has
not
been
overall
self
sufficient
in
cereal
crops
since
the
1920s,
and
has
since
then
had
to
rely
on
imported
food.
The
situation
has
deteriorated
since
Independence,
and
indeed
the
production
of
cereal
crops
declined
from
210
000
tons
in
1973
to
only
140
000
tons
in
1992,
a
drop
in
kg
per
person
to
less
than
half
over
20
years.
Subsequent
production
has
fluctuated
according
to
weather
conditions
and
the
abilities
of
families
to
find
the
capital
to
cultivate
their
fields.
In
the
1997/8
summer,
there
was
dry
weather
at
the
start
to
the
growing
season
and
only
69
000
tons
were
produced,
but
in
the
subsequent
three
years
with
wet
summers
there
were
better
harvests
with,
according
to
the
Lesotho's
Food
Security
Bulletin,
an
estimated
168
000
tons
in
1998/9,
150
000
tons
in
1999/2000
and
159
000
for
2000/1.
There
is
some
inconsistency
between
these
figures
and
the
Prime
Minister's
announcement,
because
if
the
food
grain
production
is
indeed
180
000
tons
for
2001/2,
it
appears
to
have
been
one
of
the
best
agricultural
seasons
in
recent
years.
The
grim
reality
remains,
however,
that
even
in
a
good
year
Lesotho
is
unable
to
grow
even
half
of
its
food
grain
requirements.
▲back
to top
A
letter
in
Public
Eye
of
3
May
2002
by
Mzamane
Nhlapho
highlighted
the
problems
suffered
by
2
expatriate
teachers
in
Lesotho
who
were
unable
to
get
work
permits,
not
so
much
because
they
had
been
refused,
but
because
the
machinery
for
issuing
them
had
apparently
broken
down.
No
work
permits
had
in
fact
been
issued
since
the
second
half
of
2000,
and
as
a
consequence
they
could
not
obtain
residence
permits,
and
this
affected
their
ability
to
obtain
visas
to
visit
South
Africa.
The
letter
made
the
point
that
this
insecurity
was
wasting
many
hours
of
teachers'
time
as
they
tried
to
legalise
their
position,
and
was
having
in
turn
an
impact
on
the
children
that
they
were
employed
to
teach.
▲back
to top
The
second
cell
phone
service
in
Lesotho,
operated
by
the
privatized
Tele
Com
Lesotho
began
operation
in
May
under
the
name
Econet
Ezi
Cel
Lesotho.
During
March
and
April,
the
new
service
was
advertised
not
only
in
the
media,
but
by
a
number
of
new
telecommunications
masts
appearing
on
the
scene
in
the
Lowlands
of
Lesotho.
A
formal
launch
took
place
on
4
May,
when
the
new
service
opened
its
super
store
in
the
former
Lesotho
Agricultural
Development
Bank
building
on
Kingsway
in
Maseru.
The
new
service
is
in
competition
with
Vodacom
Lesotho,
commonly
known
as
VCL,
which
introduced
the
first
cellphone
service
in
1995.
A
couple
of
days
before
the
launch
of
Ezi
Cel,
Vodacom
announced
its
cheap
Short
Message
Service
(SMS)
which
was
widely
advertised
by
the
letters
SMS
appearing
on
posters
on
lamp
posts,
often
sharing
the
same
pole
as
posters
bearing
pictures
of
the
BNP
leader,
Justin
Metsing
Lekhanya.
While
Lekhanya
and
the
BNP
were
well
known
to
most
people,
there
was
puzzlement
over
what
appeared
to
many
to
be
a
new
political
party,
SMS.
▲back
to top
An
agreement
was
signed
on
Wednesday
8
May
2002
in
Maseru
by
the
South
African
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs,
Dr
Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma
and
the
Lesotho
Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs,
Mr
Tom
Thabane.
The
agreement
facilitates
implementation
of
projects
which
fall
under
the
Joint
Bilateral
Commission
of
Cooperation
(JBCC).
Amongst
these
projects
are
the
Maloti
Drakensberg
Transfrontier
Conservation
Development
Area,
an
agreement
on
which
had
been
signed
earlier
by
the
Ministers
of
Tourism;
Phase
I
of
a
Geochemical
Mapping
Project;
a
road
construction
project
aimed
at
upgrading
the
Mokhotlong
to
Sani
Pass
Road;
technical
assistance
in
Commercial
Production
of
Livestock;
and
the
establishment
of
the
Tikoe
Industrial
estate,
a
project
located
on
the
Maseru
by
pass
road,
and
intended
to
make
provision
for
industrial
expansion
now
that
the
Thetsane
Industrial
Estate
is
full.
▲back
to top
A
growing
problem
in
Lesotho
is
the
number
of
unclaimed
corpses
in
mortuaries,
resulting
in
part
from
a
combination
of
the
high
cost
of
funerals
and
the
large
number
of
people
dying
from
AIDS.
Lentsoe
la
Basotho
of
9
May
2002
had
a
report
and
photograph
of
the
burial
by
convicts
of
coffins
holding
24
deceased
persons
whose
bodies
had
been
unclaimed
after
periods
of
four
to
five
months
in
local
mortuaries.
Another
22
were
due
to
be
buried
shortly
afterwards
when
another
mass
grave
could
be
dug
at
the
Thibella
cemetery
in
Maseru.
A
spokesman
for
the
Ministry
of
Local
Government,
Buti
Metlae,
stated
that
in
the
past
unclaimed
corpses
were
buried
twice
a
year,
but
with
increasing
numbers
it
was
really
necessary
to
undertake
the
operation
four
times
a
year.
The
Ministry
was
allocating
M430
per
deceased
person
for
coffins
for
those
from
the
Queen
Elizabeth
II
Hospital
mortuary,
and
M600
for
those
from
the
private
Lesotho
Funeral
Services
and
Amangwane
mortuaries.
The
bodies
of
six
children
were
placed
in
a
single
coffin
to
save
costs.
Food
and
cool
drinks
were
provided
by
the
Ministry
to
the
convicts
who
undertook
the
work
of
burying
the
dead.
▲back
to top
Following
Nomination
Day
on
25
April,
one
month
before
Election
Day,
it
became
apparent
that
no
less
than
19
different
political
parties
were
going
to
contest
the
25
May
election,
although
only
16
were
in
the
race
for
proportional
representation
seats.
The
Social
Democratic
Party
only
contested
the
election
for
these
seats,
and
did
not
nominate
candidates
for
any
of
the
constituencies.
Apart
from
party
candidates,
there
were
a
large
number
of
independent
candidates,
and
indeed
several
constituencies
had
more
than
one
independent
candidate,
the
M200
deposit
required
by
candidates
being
relatively
easy
to
find.
The
deposit
is
forfeited
by
any
candidate
who
does
not
receive
10
of
the
constituency
votes.
In
several
cases
the
independent
candidates
were
former
members
of
political
parties
who,
having
found
themselves
not
nominated
as
candidates
by
their
parties,
decided
to
contest
the
seat
in
their
own
right,
thus
splitting
the
party
vote,
and
risking
that
an
opposition
party
might
then
win.
Amongst
those
singled
out
by
the
Leon
Commission
as
persons
against
whom
legal
action
should
be
taken
for
their
role
in
the
1998
troubles
were
Mamello
Morrison
and
Majara
Molapo.
Mamello
Morrison
attempted
to
stand
for
the
Pulane
constituency
for
the
BNP
but
the
local
party
rejected
her
candidacy,
and
she
was
not
nominated.
Majara
Molapo,
a
leading
BNP
dissident
who
had
been
launching
attacks
on
the
BNP
leader,
Metsing
Lekhanya,
was
clearly
not
likely
to
be
nominated
by
the
BNP
in
any
constituency,
and
he
elected
to
stand
in
the
Hlotse
constituency
as
an
Independent.
As
it
happened,
observers
were
not
able
to
see
from
the
voting
what
support
he
might
have,
because
Hlotse
together
with
Mount
Moorosi
were
two
constituencies
where
party
candidates
died
between
the
nomination
day
and
the
election,
so
that
only
an
election
for
parties
could
be
held,
and
renominations
for
a
vote
for
party
candidates
had
to
wait
until
after
the
main
election.
Those
who
had
died
were
Sylvia
Phakisi
of
the
National
Progressive
Party
at
Hlotse,
and
Mpolai
Likotsi
of
the
Christian
Democratic
Party
at
Mount
Moorosi.
In
the
78
constituencies
to
be
contested
on
25
May,
there
were
to
be
a
total
of
730
candidates,
with
the
LCD
and
BNP
contesting
all
constituencies,
LPC
contesting
77,
BAC
73,
MFP
71,
PFD
67,
BCP
60,
NPP
49,
LWP
37,
CDP
21.
Apart
from
the
SDP,
which
had
no
constituency
candidates,
the
party
with
the
least
constituency
candidates
was
the
Kopanang
Basotho
Party
with
just
4
candidates.
Overall
a
record
number
of
candidates
were
contesting
the
elections,
and
in
individual
constituencies
the
number
ranged
from
4
in
some
Maloti
constituencies
to
as
high
as
16
in
the
Stadium
constituency
in
Maseru,
which
had
15
competing
parties
and
an
independent
candidate.
In
relation
to
women
candidates,
Lentsoe
la
Basotho
of
16
May
2002
reported
that
there
were
108
altogether,
with
the
largest
number
being
fielded
by
the
MFP
which
had
16
candidates,
followed
by
NPP
and
PFD
10
each,
LWP
9,
BAC
8,
LCD8,
LLP/UDP
alliance
8,
BNP
7,
CDP
7
and
NLFP
7.
Other
parties
had
five
or
less.
▲back
to top
A
migrant
worker
from
Mohale's
Hoek,
James
Motlatsi,
once
worked
as
a
miner
in
the
harsh
conditions
of
Western
Deep
Levels,
the
deepest
mine
in
the
world.
Later
he
rose
to
lead
his
fellow
workers
as
President
of
the
National
Union
of
Mineworkers.
In
2002,
he
was
appointed
Deputy
Chairman
of
AngloGold,
the
company
he
once
served
as
a
humble
miner
underground.
Motlatsi
took
over
from
Russell
Edey
at
the
AngloGold
annual
meeting
in
Cape
Town
in
April.
▲back
to top
In
the
High
Court
on
13
May
2002,
three
members
of
the
Lesotho
Defence
Force
were
sentenced
after
being
found
guilty
of
arson,
attempted
murder
and
malicious
injury
to
property
in
September
1998.
According
to
a
report
in
Lesotho
Today
of
23
May,
the
specific
charges
included
under
counts
1
and
2,
damage
done
to
the
Prime
Minister's
house
in
Roma;
under
counts
3
to
7,
damage
done
to
Mr
Kelebone
Maope's
house,
cars
and
furniture
in
Maseru
and
the
attempted
murder
of
Mr
Maope's
wife,
and
daughter;
under
counts
8
and
9,
burning
and
destruction
of
Mr
Tom
Thabane's
house
at
Makhoakhoeng,
Maseru;
under
counts
10
and
11,
burning
and
destruction
of
Mr
Lesao
Lehohla's
house
in
Maseru;
under
counts
12
to
14
burning
and
destruction
of
Mr
Thabiso
Melato's
house
in
Roma
together
with
theft
of
a
video
machine
and
some
clothing;
under
counts
15
and
16,
burning
of
Dr
Ketso's
house
in
Roma;
and
under
count
17,
theft
of
a
Toyota
Hilux
vehicle
from
the
National
University
of
Lesotho.
At
the
time,
Kelebone
Maope,
Tom
Thabane,
Lesao
Lehohla
and
Leketekete
Ketso
were
cabinet
ministers
and
Thabiso
Melato
was
the
Member
of
Parliament
for
Maama
constituency
which
includes
Roma.
Pte
Majoro
Thesele
(45)
was
found
guilty
on
9
counts
and
Cpl
Paulosi
Mpalinyane
(49)
on
12
counts
and
each
was
sentenced
by
Justice
Harry
Weitz
to
an
effective
12
years
imprisonment,
while
Pte
Mochema
Mochema
(31),
was
found
guilty
on
6
counts
and
received
an
effective
sentence
of
10
years.
Two
of
the
soldiers,
Majoro
and
Mochema,
are
already
in
gaol
serving
sentences
for
mutiny.
None
of
the
three
were
found
guilty
of
the
NUL
vehicle
theft.
However,
a
further
accused,
Lerata
Lekhesa
jumped
bail
on
29
April,
and
a
warrant
for
his
arrest
has
been
issued.
▲back
to top
The
Prime
Minister,
Pakalitha
Mosisili,
on
Thursday
16
May
2002,
inaugurated
three
nature
reserves
in
northern
Lesotho.
Although
formal
legal
gazetting
of
the
reserves
has
not
yet
been
achieved,
each
of
the
three
areas
is
being
referred
to
by
what
is
presumably
intended
to
be
its
eventual
legal
status.
The
reserves
have
been
developed
by
the
South
African
firm
EarthPlan
under
contract
to
the
Environment
and
Social
Services
Group
of
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Development
Authority.
Over
200
temporary
jobs
were
created
by
the
construction
of
the
reserves,
and
almost
75
permanent
jobs
have
been
created.
Bokong
Nature
Reserve
is
situated
at
around
3000
metres
altitude
on
the
road
from
Pitseng
to
Lejone.
The
visitor
centre
is
approached
by
a
short
spur
road
and
vehicles
park
at
the
level
of
the
roof
of
the
centre,
which
overlooks
the
Lepaqoa
Gorge
and
waterfall.
A
bearded
vulture
nesting
site
is
nearby,
and
there
is
a
network
of
hiking
trails
which
extend
to
the
T'sehlanyane
National
Park,
whose
vehicular
access
is
by
the
road
to
the
Hlotse
Adit
of
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Water
Project.
At
T'sehlanyane
is
one
of
the
best
preserved
forests
of
Ouhout
or
cheche
Leucosidea
sericea
and
there
are
also
opportunities
for
small
game
viewing
and
bird
watching.
The
first
Lesotho
record
of
the
Chorister
Robin
was
reported
from
T'sehlanyane
in
November
2001.
The
third
reserve,
Liphofung
Cultural
Heritage
Site,
is
the
smallest
of
the
three,
and
is
reached
by
a
1.5
km
concrete
side
road
from
the
main
road
from
Butha
Buthe
to
the
foot
of
Moteng
Pass.
Liphofung
means
place
of
elands
in
Sesotho,
and
Liphofung
is
a
sandstone
rock
shelter
with
rock
paintings.
It
also
has
historical
associations
with
King
Moshoeshoe
who
lived
in
the
cave
as
a
herdboy,
and
later
visited
it
with
the
missionary
Thomas
Arbousset
in
February
1840.
King
Moshoeshoe
did
not,
as
indicated
in
LHDA
information
handed
out
to
the
press,
visit
it
en
route
from
Botha
Bothe
to
Thaba
Bosiu
in
1824.
From
a
visitor
centre
with
cultural
exhibits,
a
staircase
has
been
constructed
down
into
the
rock
shelter,
crossing
the
stream
through
the
shelter
by
three
bridges
to
reach
the
rock
paintings.
On
16
May,
the
Prime
Minister
visited
Bokong,
Liphofung
and
T'sehlanyane
successively
by
helicopter.
The
formal
opening
ceremony
for
all
three
reserves
was
at
T'sehlanyane.
▲back
to top
On
Sunday
19
May,
the
major
political
parties
held
rallies
in
Maseru,
and
observers
who
attended
them
tried
to
count
the
numbers
of
people
present
as
a
clue
to
the
way
people,
at
least
in
the
Maseru
area,
might
vote
in
the
election
the
following
Saturday.
The
estimated
numbers
in
fact
varied
considerably,
and
whether
the
BNP
or
LCD
had
more
at
their
respective
rallies
became
a
matter
of
hot
debate
in
the
media.
The
following
numbers
are
based
on
the
estimates
of
one
foreign
independent
observer.
The
Lesotho
Workers
Party
(LWP)
held
its
rally
just
outside
the
Thetsane
factory
area
near
the
by
pass
road.
Some
2
500
to
3
000
persons,
presumably
mainly
factory
workers
gathered
to
hear
the
leader,
Billy
Macaefa,
and
others
speak.
At
the
Papal
Podium
on
the
former
Maseru
Race
Course,
the
Lesotho
People's
Congress
held
its
rally,
conveniently
situated
only
a
short
distance
from
the
mansion
of
the
party
leader,
Kelebone
J
Maope.
The
crowd
gathered
there
was
of
the
order
of
5
000
people.
On
the
opposite
side
of
the
Qoat'saneng
Hill,
at
the
area
known
as
Manthabiseng,
the
Basotho
National
Party
held
its
meeting
on
the
slopes
of
the
hill.
Because
of
the
sloping
terrain,
estimates
of
those
present
were
more
difficult,
but
some
12
000
people
seem
to
have
been
present
to
hear
the
leader
Justin
Metsing
Lekhanya
speak.
This
has
become
the
BNP's
traditional
pitso
ground
area,
and
had
been
extensively
used
by
the
previous
leader,
E.
R.
Sekhonyana,
although
with
the
coming
of
the
National
Convention
Centre
and
the
new
Mpilo
Boulevard
relief
road,
part
of
the
site
has
disappeared
and
meetings
increasingly
have
had
to
move
higher
up
the
hill.
As
in
the
culmination
of
the
1998
election
campaign,
the
ruling
Lesotho
Congress
for
Democracy
held
its
rally
at
Bot'sabelo
,
also
commonly
known
as
Lepereng
,
Bot'sabelo
having
originally
been
established
as
a
Leper
Asylum.
The
party
faithful
en
route
to
and
from
the
rally
waved
their
arms
like
a
bird's
wings
to
show
their
allegiance
to
a
party
whose
symbol
is
an
eagle.
They
listened
to
a
final
pre-election
speech
by
the
Prime
Minister
and
party
leader,
Pakalitha
Mosisili,
who
promised
tough
action
against
the
perpetrators
of
the
1998
destruction
after
the
elections.
The
estimated
size
of
the
crowd
at
Lepereng
was
15
000.
However,
others
considered
that
the
crowd
at
the
BNP
rally
was
larger
than
that
at
Lepereng,
particularly
in
the
later
part
of
the
day.
▲back
to top
In
his
judgment
on
Monday
20
May
2002,
Mr
Justice
Peter
Cullinan
found
the
former
Chief
Executive
of
the
Lesotho
Highlands
Development
Authority,
Masupha
Sole,
guilty
on
11
counts
of
bribery
and
2
of
fraud.
He
was
acquitted
on
5
other
charges
of
bribery.
The
unfortunate
Sole
was
wheeled
into
court
on
a
hospital
bed,
having
been
injured
in
a
car
accident
in
his
home
district
of
Qacha's
Nek
not
long
before.
He
was
ordered
to
be
detained
at
Queen
Elizabeth
II
Hospital
in
Maseru
for
sentencing
on
the
following
Thursday.
However,
he
apparently
needed
further
treatment
in
Bloemfontein,
and
the
sentencing
was
postponed
until
Tuesday
4
June
when he
was
sentenced
to
18
years
imprisonment,
a
sentence
whose
severity
surprised
and
shocked
many
who
had
been
monitoring
the
case
and
had
thought
that
Sole
had
already
been
severely
punished
as
a
result of
the
earlier
civil
case.
As
a
result
of
the
civil
case
he
had
had
to
pay
back
over
M7
million
to
the
LHDA.
When
he
had
been
unable
to
do
this,
he
had
had
his
property
sequestrated
by
the
High
Court.
Indeed
it
had
been
only
three
days
earlier
on
1
June
that
most
of
his
property
including
Mercedes
Benz,
two
BMW
cars
and
three
luxury
houses
had
been
auctioned
by
court
order.
The
repercussions
of
the
Sole
case
are
considerable
for
the
international
contracting
industry.
Trials
have
already
begun,
the
first
to
be
heard
concerns
the
Canadian
firm,
Acres,
of
firms
alleged
to
have
paid
the
bribes
to
Sole,
and
since
a
bribe
must
have
a
giver
as
well
as
a
taker,
it
seems
likely
that
several
prominent
engineering
firms
will
be
seriously
affected
and
disqualified
from
World
Bank
and
European
Union
funded
contracts.
They
will
also
not
be
allowed
to
bid
for
one
of
the
largest
South
African
engineering
projects
at
present
at
feasibility
study
level,
the
Gautrain
project
for
a
high
speed
rail
link
between
Johannesburg
and
Pretoria,
parts
of
which
will
be
underground
at
each
end.
Unlike
Sole,
it
seems
improbable
that
personnel
of
any
firms
found
guilty
will
be
gaoled,
because
it
is
the
firms
as
bodies
corporate,
rather
than
their
staff,
which
are
being
prosecuted.
More
likely,
fines
and
costs
could
be
levied
so
that
the
overall
cost
to
Lesotho
might
be
recovered
of
the
extremely
expensive
cases
involving
both
Sole
and
the
engineering
firms.
A
probable
outcome
of
the
whole
sorry
affair
is
that
a
large
number
of
well
known
engineering
firms
may
well
have
to
re-register
themselves
under
new
names
to
escape
sanctions.
▲back
to top
12
parties
had
been
supported
financially
by
the
salaries
awarded
to
their
members
two
each
on
the
Interim
Political
Authority
over
the
period
9
December
1998
until
immediately
after
the
election.
In
addition,
each
party
was
awarded
M20
000
to
help
it
fight
the
2002
General
Election.
These
facts
help
to
explain
why
the
number
of
parties
fighting
the
2002
elections
had
grown
so
large.
They
also
helped
the
parties
to
finance
party
manifestos.
It
appears
that
at
least
10
of
the
parties
did
in
fact
produce
manifestos
with
the
Popular
Front
for
Democracy
(PFD)
leading
the
field
by
publishing
its
manifesto
as
early
as
May
2001,
and
the
SDP
and
MFP
managing
to
have
manifestos
also
out
before
the
end
of
2001.
The
ruling
party,
the
LCD,
produced
the
most
lavishly
illustrated
manifesto,
with
its
emblem
a
red,
black
and
green
eagle
appearing
on
the
front
cover,
and
an
American
Bald
Eagle
a
species
which
does
not
occur
in
Africa
decorating
the
pages
elsewhere.
Amongst
the
themes
of
the
manifesto
were
fighting
poverty,
creating
employment,
expansion
of
free
education,
meeting
the
needs
of
AIDS
victims,
the
expansion
of
local
government,
fighting
crime
and
corruption,
encouragement
of
investment,
privatisation
and
support
to
farmers.
Almost
every
other
manifesto
promised
voters
a
similar
list
of
desirable
aims,
although
not
all
were
as
enthusiastic
about
privatisation
which
has
led
to
job
losses.
Variations
include
the
MFP
emphasis
of
more
power
for
the
King
and
better
remuneration
for
chiefs,
while
the
NIP
manifesto
repeated
the
party's
long
standing
aim
to
fight
communism.
A
maverick
among
parties
is
the
Sefate
Democratic
Union,
which
came
into
existence
when
its
founder
Bofihla
Nkuebe
won
a
by-election
against
a
ruling
party
candidate,
although
he
lost
his
seat
in
the
subsequent
1998
General
Election.
The
SDU
manifesto
had
more
pages
than
any
other,
106
in
all,
and
differed
in
that
much
of
the
text
was
in
English
(all
other
manifestos
seem
only
to
have
been
produced
in
a
single
Sesotho
edition).
However,
the
English
material
was
mainly
rather
disorganised
supporting
material
(most
of
it
unacknowledged
material
from
other
publications)
for
the
party's
policy
of
restoring
to
Lesotho
the
Conquered
Territory,
lost
by
Lesotho
in
the
19th
century
and
now
part
of
South
Africa.
The
actual
manifesto
embedded
within
this
material
turned
out
to
be
the
1998
manifesto,
in
Sesotho
with
the
wording
unchanged,
although
on
the
succeeding
pages
there
were
some
afterthoughts,
which
were
not
included
in
the
main
manifesto.
Amongst
the
afterthoughts
was
for
the
Lesotho
Constitution
to
be
done
away
with
completely.
Ho
raloe
bocha
molao
oa
motheo
o
tla
felisa
liqhoebeshano
le
lintoa
(Constructing
a
new
constitution
will
end
disputes
and
wars).
▲back
to top
The
complexities
of
the
new
electoral
system
presented
a
challenge
to
anyone
to
provide
simple
a
explanations
which
could
be
understood
by
the
average
voter.
The
Independent
Electoral
Commission
nevertheless
rose
to
the
challenge,
and
could
hardly
be
faulted
for
the
attempting
to
provide
detailed
explanations
in
Sesotho.
The
first
challenge
was
to
describe
the
new
electoral
system
in
English
and
Sesotho.
In
English,
it
was
rendered
as
a
Mixed
Member
Proportional
(MMP)
system,
a
convenient
contraction
for
a
system
where
80
members
are
elected
first
past
the
post
in
constituencies,
and
the
remaining
40
elected
by
parties
by
proportional
representation,
which
as
far
as
possible
redresses
any
imbalances
in
the
constituency
results.
In
Sesotho,
the
equivalent
to
MMP
was
Motsoako
oa
Masia
siane
le
Khekhethane
ho
ipapisitsoe
le
teka
tekano
MMK,
which
translates
as
Mixture
of
first
past
the
post
running
competitively
and
dividing
into
parts
to
achieve
equivalence.
The
press
in
general
preferred
to
describe
proportional
representation
as
ka
semotinyane,
motinyane
being
the
general
name
for
cisticolas
and
other
small
warblers.
In
the
book
Pitso
ea
linonyana
by
Azariele
Sekese,
familiar
to
almost
everyone
because
it
is
a
primary
school
set
book,
the
birds
speak
as
if
in
a
parliament,
and
even
the
smallest
bird
motinyane
is
allowed
to
have
his
say.
Thus
in
MMP/MMK,
small
parties
who
would
otherwise
be
unrepresented
get
a
seat
in
Parliament.
A
booklet,
Tseba
ka
mokhoa
oa
ho
khetha
oa
Masia
siane
le
Khekhethane
MMK,
published
by
the
Independent
Electoral
Commission,
explained
the
details
of
MMK.
It
also
explained
in
Sesotho,
with
examples,
the
computations
required
to
determine
how
many
of
the
proportional
representation
seats
each
party
would
acquire.
To
understand
the
rationale
behind
the
calculation
of
the
quota
of
votes
sekepele
sa
lifoutu,
and
the
subsequent
adjustments
require
at
least
a
knowledge
of
ratios
and
decimals.
Some
of
the
older
generation
would
have
acquired
the
necessary
skills
to
undertake
such
calculations
if
they
had
completed
primary
school.
In
practice
today,
however,
even
a
pupil
who
has
completed
Junior
Certificate
finds
it
hard
to
understand
and
carry
out
such
computations.
Fortunately,
the
overall
principle
is
not
difficult
and
most
people
were
prepared
to
accept
that
the
IEC
would
do
the
calculations
correctly.
▲back
to top
The
announcement
in
March
2002
by
Tele
Com
Lesotho
that
it
had
already
on
1
March
2002
increased
its
charges
per
minute
to
45s
on
local
calls
did
not
go
unchallenged.
There
were
local
protests
-
to
both
TCL
and
to
the
Regulator,
the
Lesotho
Telecommunications
Authority.
There
appears
to
have
been
some
hard
bargaining
between
LTA
and
TCL,
but
TCL
ultimately
agreed
to
reduce
the
45s
per
minute
to
35s
with
effect
from
20
May.
The
local
telephone
users
will
benefit,
although
the
shareholders,
such
as
those
in
Mauritius,
the
home
of
one
of
the
larger
companies
making
up
TCL,
will
probably
be
less
than
happy
that
their
dividends
have
been
thereby
reduced.
▲back
to top
A
sod
turning
ceremony
took
place
on
22
May
to
mark
the
beginning
of
construction
at
the
new
Butha
Buthe
Industrial
Park.
The
industrial
development,
the
first
in
Butha
Buthe
District,
is
situated
on
the
east
of
the
road
from
Butha
Buthe
to
the
Caledonspoort
Border
Post.
Construction
of
the
park
is
being
undertaken
with
assistance
from
the
People's
Republic
of
China,
and
an
eleven
strong
Chinese
team,
has
already
arrived
in
Lesotho
to
undertake
the
construction
work.
It
is
expected
that
factories
built
at
the
site
will
add
to
those
already
taking
advantage
of
the
US
Africa
Growth
and
Opportunity
Act
(AGOA),
under
which
Lesotho
gains
zero
tariff
access
to
the
American
market
for
a
range
of
export
items.
▲back
to top
An
unsigned
article
Exploitation
in
Lesotho
Textile
Factories
from
the
United
Nations
Integrated
Regional
Information
Network
IRIN
appeared
in
Public
Eye
of
24
May
2002.
Obviously
intended
for
the
US
press,
and
with
currency
units
in
US
dollars
throughout,
the
article
referred
to
a
study
of
three
Lesotho
factories
published
in
March
by
the
Canada
based
Ethical
Trading
Action
Group,
which
concluded
that
violations
of
freedom
of
association
and
workers'
rights
to
organise
and
bargain
collectively
appear
to
be
continuing
in
the
factories.
However,
the
article
also
referred
to
the
US
Africa
Growth
and
Oppurtunity
Act
(AGOA),
which
provides
35
eligible
African
countries
with
zero
tariff
access
to
the
American
market
for
a
range
of
export
items.
Under
AGOA,
Lesotho's
export
of
apparel
to
the
USA
had
risen
from
$140.3
million
in
2000
to
$215.3
million
in
2001,
this
being
achieved
despite
2001
being
a
recession
year
in
the
United
States.
Quoting
Daniel
Bellegarde,
US
deputy
head
of
mission
in
Maseru,
the
article
states
that
for
the
first
time
in
Lesotho's
history,
the
number
of
people
employed
in
the
private
sector
has
exceeded
the
number
of
people
employed
by
government.
Set
against
this
is
an
interview
with
Billy
Macaefa
of
the
Lesotho
Clothing
and
Allied
Workers
Union
(LECAWU)
who
complained
that
working
conditions
include
unpaid
overtime.
"The
record
of
exports
looks
good
but
it's
through
the
sweat
of
people
forced
to
work
Monday
to
Sunday
....
It
is
achieved
through
a
form
of
slavery....
People
are
forced
to
work,
they
are
not
allowed
to
attend
funerals,
and
our
culture
is
not
respected.
Maternity
leave
...
is
not
paid."
The
article
also
states
that
the
pay
for
a
skilled
textile
worker
is
just
over
US
50
per
month.
▲back
to top
Although
there
was
heavy
rain,
unusual
for
May,
in
both
the
week
before
and
after
the
General
Election,
the
actual
Election
Day
on
25
May
was
well
chosen
because
it
was
cloudless,
like
a
typical
winter
day.
Despite
each
voter
having
to
cast
two
ballots,
a
pink
one
for
the
constituency
candidate
and
a
white
one
for
the
party,
voting
went
smoothly
and
the
queues
were
not
long
in
most
places
because
of
the
large
number
of
polling
stations.
Hitches
inevitably
did
arise.
For
example
some
Makhaleng
constituency
polling
supervisors
opened
the
packets
of
ballot
papers,
only
to
find
that
those
for
party
candidates
were
for
the
Moyeni
constituency
and
had
been
wrongly
packed
and
labelled.
Such
incidents
delayed
the
opening
of
a
few
polling
stations,
and
in
a
few
cases
voting
had
to
be
continued
on
the
following
day.
▲back
to top
The
National
Convention
Centre,
is
referred
to
generally,
even
on
Radio
Lesotho,
as
the
Manthabiseng
Conference
Centre,
thus
immortalising
the
unfortunate
lady
who
died
in
1991
when
she
was
beaten
by
security
personnel
and
her
body
was
left
outside
a
Maseru
shop.
Enraged
passers
by
at
the
time
sparked
off
riots,
which
caused
widespread
damage
and
led
to
the
bus
station
being
moved
from
the
shopping
area
to
the
old
Agricultural
Showgrounds,
which
then
acquired
the
name
Manthabiseng
Bus
Stop,
Bus
Stop
being
also
Bus
Terminus
or
Bus
Station
in
local
English
usage.
When
the
Bus
Station
was
moved
back
to
a
more
central
point,
and
the
site
used
for
the
National
Convention
Centre
even
though
on
town
plans
it
had
been
earmarked
for
the
National
Museum
and
National
Archives,
the
name
Manthabiseng
nevertheless
stuck
to
the
area.
The
National
Convention
Centre,
although
architecturally
ambitious,
at
least
in
its
interior
design
lacks
many
of
the
features
which
make
it
an
attractive
venue
for
meetings.
For
example
it
has
no
catering
facilities,
and
whereas
it
might
once
have
been
equipped
with
standard
conference
equipment
such
as
overhead
projectors,
it
seems
that
with
inadequate
security
such
items
along
with
movable
chairs
have
been
lost.
As
a
result,
the
NCC
is
relatively
rarely
used,
the
conference
facilities
at
Lesotho
Sun
and
Maseru
Sun
being
generally
preferred.
However,
for
the
Election
Results,
the
NCC
did
for
once
have
a
role
to
play,
as
it
was
the
venue
chosen
by
the
IEC
for
issuing
results.
There
had
been
a
general
expectation
that
some
results
might
have
been
available
on
Saturday
night,
but
it
was
well
into
Sunday
before
the
first
results
trickled
in.
Even
Maseru
constituencies
within
walking
distance
of
the
NCC
were
not
available
until
Monday,
and
the
Qoaling
constituency,
in
which
the
NCC
is
situated,
did
not
have
its
result
available
until
11.10
p.m.
on
Monday
evening.
By
Tuesday
evening,
all
results
were
in,
except
for
Sebapala
constituency
in
Quthing
District.
The
returning
officer,
who
should
have
come
back
with
the
result
by
this
time
was
being
called
on
Radio
Lesotho
lekhoaba
l
la
mohla
moroallo
oa
metsi,
the
raven
of
the
great
flood,
Noah's
raven
having
been
sent
out
from
the
ark
never
to
return.
Unlike
Noah's
raven,
the
returning
officer
did
eventually
live
up
to
her
title,
and
the
last
result
came
in
at
11.40
a.m.
on
Wednesday.
At
this
point
the
constituency
results
were
all
known,
and
these
closely
reflected
the
results
of
the
1998
elections,
with
the
ruling
LCD
having
secured
77
seats,
the
LPC
1
seat,
and
two
seats
remaining
vacant
awaiting
renominations
in
constituencies,
where
a
candidate
had
died.
▲back
to top
In
most
constituencies
the
ruling
Lesotho
Congress
for
Democracy
LCD
achieved
clear
wins
with
more
than
50%
of
the
votes,
even
when
there
were
many
candidates.
For
example,
in
the
most
contested
constituency
of
all
with
16
candidates,
the
Stadium
constituency
in
Maseru
which
includes
suburbs
such
as
Thibella
and
Moshoeshoe
II,
the
LCD
candidate
Lehlohonolo
Mafaesa
achieved
52.0%
of
the
vote,
even
though
he
was
running
against
the
previous
MP
for
the
constituency,
Lit'sitso
Sekhamane,
who
had
defected
to
the
Lesotho
People's
Congress
(LPC).
Sekhamane
obtained
only
3.4%
of
the
votes
and
came
fifth
behind
the
candidates
of
the
Basotho
National
Party
(BNP)
who
had
25.5%,
Basutoland
African
Congress
(BAC)
8.7%
and
Lesotho
Workers
Party
(LWP)
3.7%.
The
Prime
Minister,
Pakalitha
Mosisili,
achieved
one
of
the
highest
percentages
of
votes
in
the
Tsoelike
constituency
in
his
home
district
of
Qacha's
Nek.
He
won
79.2%
of
the
vote,
which
was
only
exceeded
by
the
LCD
candidate
for
Thaba
Phechela
who
swept
the
board
in
an
eight
cornered
fight
with
85.1%
of
the
vote.
In
the
previous
election
the
Prime
Minister
had
stood
in
the
adjacent
Qacha's
Nek
constituency,
but
he
surrendered
this
to
his
colleague,
the
Senator
and
Minister
of
Health,
Pont'so
Sekatle,
who
in
fighting
her
first
election
achieved
a
very
creditable
72.4%
of
the
vote.
No
doubt
in
Qacha's
Nek
the
LCD
was
assisted
not
only
by
its
nation
wide
popularity
in
having
introduced
free
primary
education
and
having
managed
to
bring
some
order
to
the
police
and
army,
but
also
by
Qacha's
Nek
acquiring
its
first
stretch
of
tarred
road.
Another
Senator,
the
Minister
of
Finance
and
former
Government
Secretary,
Mohlabi
Kenneth
Tsekoa
who
has
also
been
a
mathematics
and
science
teacher
and
later
the
Lesotho
High
Commissioner
to
the
United
Kingdom,
stood
for
the
LCD
in
the
Senqu
constituency
in
Mokhotlong
District,
where
he
won
his
first
election
comfortably
with
55.8%
of
the
vote.
Amongst
eagerly
awaited
results
was
Seqonoka,
where
the
LPC
leader,
Kelebone
Maope
was
defending
his
seat.
He
won
comfortably
with
50.2%
of
the
votes,
the
LCD
candidate
achieving
the
lowest
percentage
of
votes
in
any
constituency
with
just
16.0%.
No
doubt,
Maope's
high
standing
in
his
own
home
area,
and
his
nurturing
of
the
constituency
paid
off.
In
the
adjoining
constituency
to
the
north,
Teyateyaneng
,
the
result
was
the
closest
of
all,
but
the
LPC
lost
as
it
did
in
all
other
constituencies.
In
this
constituency,
Ranthimo
Ranthimo
of
the
LCD
managed
to
win
the
seat
by
just
9
votes,
1946
votes
compared
with
the
1937
votes
for
the
veteran
politician,
Shakhane
Mokhehle,
now
standing
for
the
LPC.
LCD
e
hlola
Robong
ka
robong,
LCD
beats
Nine
by
nine
was
how
the
LCD
paper
described
the
result:
Shakane
s
middle
name
is
Robong
or
Nine,
because
he
was
the
ninth
child
of
Cicerone
Mokhehle.
In
the
party
vote
in
TY,
the
LPC
actually
did
better,
with
1965
votes
against
1884
for
LCD,
which
seems
to
show
that
in
this
constituency,
the
voters
liked
the
LPC
more
than
they
did
its
candidate.
The
Basutoland
African
Congress
(BAC)
had
hoped
that
its
candidate,
the
former
Minister
of
Health,
Deborah
Khauhelo
Ralitapole
would
do
well
in
TY,
but
she
came
fourth
after
the
BNP
with
just
14.1%
of
the
votes.
Even
this
was
better
than
the
performance
of
the
BAC
party
leader,
Molapo
Qhobela,
who
received
just
4.0%
of
the
votes
in
the
Butha
Buthe
constituency
and
lost
his
deposit.
BAC's
best
performances
were
in
fact
in
the
four
constituencies
of
Mokhotlong
District,
where
in
each
case
it
came
third
in
the
poll
and
managed
to
keep
its
deposit.
The
best
performance
was
in
the
Mokhotlong
constituency
where
its
candidate
Motolo
Molahli
won
16.8%
of
the
vote.
Also
of
general
interest,
was
the
Mant'sonyane
constituency,
because
one
of
the
candidates
was
the
BNP
party
leader
Justin
Metsing
Lekhanya,
who
was
fighting
on
his
home
turf.
He
had
no
doubt
expected
to
win
it,
but
in
the
event,
it
was
taken
by
one
of
the
LCD's
women
candidates,
Masuthang
Taole,
with
49.1%
of
the
vote,
while
Lekhanya
received
only
28.5.
This
was
also
the
constituency
contested
by
the
lawyer,
Lekhetho
Rakuoane,
who
is
leader
of
the
Patriotic
Front
for
Democracy
(PFD).
He
received
11.4%
of
the
total,
these
974
votes
contrasting
with
voting
in
most
other
constituencies
where
the
PFD
candidate
received
less
than
100
votes.
However
there
were
exceptions,
such
as
Tsikoane
where
the
candidate
was
Mamahlapane
Rakuoane
,
who
secured
575
votes
which
at
8.8%
was
not
enough
to
keep
her
deposit,
but
whose
candidature
helped
to
swell
the
numbers
needed
in
the
party
vote
to
ensure
that
the
PFD
did
get
one
proportional
representation
seat.
There
was
considerable
interest
in
how
one
of
the
newest
parties
on
the
scene,
the
Lesotho
Workers
Party
would
do.
Although
the
PFD
had
claimed
to
represent
workers
interests,
the
LWP
as
a
grassroots
party
with
its
own
base
in
the
Lesotho
Clothing
and
Allied
Workers
Union
(LECAWU)
was
also
seeking
the
workers'
vote.
As
expected,
LWP's
strength
was
in
the
areas
where
there
were
many
factory
workers.
In
the
Maputsoe
constituency,
its
candidate
Mat'sepo
Lehlokoane,
one
of
the
workers
herself,
came
third
and
managed
to
get
1023
votes,
13.4%
of
the
total.
The
party
also
did
quite
well
in
several
Maseru
constituencies.
However,
its
leader
Billy
Macaefa
stood
in
his
own
rural
constituency
of
Matelile
and
only
managed
283
votes,
5.4%
of
the
total.
Nationwide,
the
LWP's
performance
was
the
most
varied
of
any
party,
ranging
from
over
1000
votes
in
industrial
areas
to
less
than
10
votes
in
remote
mountain
areas.
The
total
vote
did
however
ensure
the
party
one
seat
in
Parliament
under
the
proportional
representation
system.
A
particularly
interesting
constituency
was
Maama
,
where
in
1998,
there
had
been
an
unresolved
dispute
between
T'solo
Lelala
and
Leseteli
Malefane
for
the
BNP
nomination,
and
this
had
led
in
the
end
to
there
being
no
BNP
candidate
in
a
constituency
which
many
people
thought
the
BNP
had
a
good
chance
of
winning.
The
dispute
continued
into
2002,
but
on
this
occasion
Malefane,
who
was
by
now
BNP
Secretary
General,
won
the
BNP
nomination.
Lelala,
a
survivor
of
both
the
Khalong
la
Baroa
assassination
of
former
BNP
ministers,
and
also
a
survivor
when
his
own
house
in
Roma
was
bombed
on
10
August
2001,
decided
to
contest
Maama
as
an
Independent.
In
the
election
Malefane
acquired
2400
votes,
not
enough
to
beat
the
LCD
candidate,
Malebaka
Bulane,
who
won
2785
votes,
40.9%
of
the
poll.
However,
Lelala
acquired
413
votes,
and
if
these
or
those
of
the
NIP
leader,
Anthony
Manyeli,
who
acquired
395
votes,
had
gone
to
Malefane,
the
BNP
would
have
won
the
seat.
In
fact
both
Lelala's
and
Manyeli's
votes
were
higher
than
those
of
the
outgoing
MP,
Thabiso
Melato,
who
stood
for
the
LPC
and
received
only
285
votes
or
4.2%
of
the
valid
votes.
The
election
of
Malebaka
Bulane
to
Parliament,
means
that
the
National
Assembly
will
have
its
first
husband
and
wife
pair
of
MPs,
her
husband
Vova
Bulane,
the
philoprogenitive
Minister
of
Agriculture
he
has
some
14
children
by
two
wives,
being
returned
for
Qhoali
constituency.
Independent
candidates
played
a
role
in
several
constituencies.
In
Bobatsi
,
the
incumbent
MP,
the
only
BNP
MP
in
the
1998
Parliament,
Mothepu
Mothae,
was
not
renominated
by
his
party,
and
stood
as
an
Independent,
but
came
fifth
with
a
mere
2.5%
of
the
votes.
Quite
different
was
the
remote
Hloahloeng
constituency
in
the
mountains
of
Mohale's
Hoek
District,
where
an
Independent
candidate
came
a
comfortable
second
and
acquired
21.5%
of
the
vote.
The
father
son
contest
in
Taung
constituency
was
a
replay
of
the
1993
and
1998
elections.
In
a
constituency
with
10
candidates,
only
two
retained
their
deposits.
The
son,
Mpho
Malie,
currently
Minister
of
Trade
and
Industry,
with
70.1%
of
the
vote,
increased
his
lead
over
his
father
Meli
Malie,
a
former
BNP
Minister
of
Education,
who
came
a
poor
second
with
18.3%.
The
Maseru
constituency,
which
consists
of
much
of
the
old
colonial
capital
but
none
of
its
recent
suburbs,
was
contested
by
several
well
known
persons.
The
LCD
candidate,
Popane
Lebesa
who
had
earlier
been
involved
in
a
bitter
struggle
with
a
fellow
LCD
member
to
get
the
party
nomination
won
with
on
a
minority
vote
of
44.0%.
Second
came
the
BNP
Deputy
Leader,
Bereng
Sekhonyana,
with
30.6%
of
the
votes.
Mallane
Mahloane
of
the
LWP
came
third
with
11.4%,
while
the
former
Minister
of
Finance,
now
a
LPC
candidate,
Leketekete
Ketso
came
fourth
with
a
mere
6.0%
of
the
votes.
The
patients
of
the
well
known
dentist,
Ishmael
Molefi
Thelejane
of
the
BAC,
who
came
fifth
with
4.7%
of
the
votes,
must
have
been
glad
that
he
would
not
disappear
from
his
practice
into
Parliament.
The
Marematlou
Freedom
Party
(MFP)
fielded
a
former
Managing
Director
of
the
Lesotho
National
Development
Corporation
as
its
candidate,
but
he
received
a
mere
79
votes,
1.0%
of
the
total.
In
fact
the
MFP
nowhere
did
well
in
the
election.
Its
leader,
Vincent
Malebo,
standing
in
the
Machache
constituency,
managed
a
mere
3.8%
of
the
votes,
although
nation
wide
the
total
votes
did
provide
one
proportional
representation
seat.
Overall,
despite
there
having
been
no
redelimitation
of
constituency
boundaries
since
1998,
there
were
no
enormous
disparities
between
constituencies
in
valid
votes.
The
Maseru
constituency
of
Mabote
had
the
highest
number
of
valid
party
votes
with
10
372,
while
the
lowest
number
was
in
another
Maseru
constituency,
Abia
,
with
just
4
373
valid
party
votes.
It
is
possible
that
some
of
the
Abia
voters
registered
in
another
Maseru
constituency,
the
one
in
which
they
worked
rather
than
the
one
in
which
they
resided.
A
feature
of
the
election
was
the
large
number
of
rejected
votes
in
most
constituencies.
In
many
constituencies
there
were
over
200
such
votes
and
in
a
few
the
number
was
more
than
300
and
more
than
5%
of
the
total.
In
a
few
marginal
constituencies,
particularly
Teyateyaneng,
where
the
victory
margin
was
9
votes,
they
could
have
affected
the
outcome.
There
was
no
immediate
explanation
for
such
a
large
number
of
spoilt
ballot
papers,
but
it
was
suggested
by
some
that
the
instruction
to
voters
that
they
had
to
vote
twice
might
have
been
misinterpreted,
and
two
crosses
had
been
placed
on
a
single
ballot
paper
instead
of
one
on
each
of
two
papers.
This
interpretation
is
supported
by
the
fact
that
in
most
constituencies,
there
were
more
spoilt
ballot
papers
in
the
constituency
candidate
vote
which
came
first
than
in
the
party
vote
which
came
second.
Overall,
women
improved
their
position
in
Parliament
on
the
constituency
vote.
In
the
previous
Parliament,
owing
to
the
death
of
two
women
MPs,
their
number
had
dwindled
to
two.
These
two
had
been
reelected,
and
were
being
joined
by
eight
other
elected
women
MPs,
one
of
whom
was
the
former
Senator,
Matumelo
Pont'so
Sekatle,
Minister
of
Health,
now
the
elected
member
for
Qacha's
Nek.
▲back
to top
In
relation
to
the
party
vote,
the
most
surprising
was
the
comparatively
high
vote
given
to
the
National
Independent
Party
(NIP).
The
party
had
owed
its
origin
a
quarter
of
a
century
earlier
to
a
breakaway
from
the
Basotho
National
Party
(BNP)
by
A.
C.
Manyeli,
who
disapproved
of
the
BNP
softening
its
anti-communist
stance.
By
1998,
the
party
had
all
but
faded
away,
receiving
only
a
derisory
number
of
votes
in
the
elections.
However,
like
some
other
minor
parties,
it
survived
because
it
was
entitled
to
two
paid
seats
on
the
Interim
Political
Authority,
and
like
other
parties
it
received
M20
000
as
a
grant
to
enable
it
to
participate
in
the
2002
elections.
The
grant
enabled
it
to
pay
the
deposits
(M200
each),
of
10
candidates,
and
to
reprint
the
party
manifesto,
but
to
the
vast
majority
of
the
electorate
the
party
and
its
policies
were
hardly
known.
All
of
the
ten
seats
which
NIP
contested
were
in
the
Lowlands,
but
as
the
election
results
came
in,
it
became
apparent
that
on
the
party
vote,
the
NIP
was
actually
doing
better
in
many
of
the
constituencies
that
it
had
not
even
contested.
Indeed
there
was
the
extraordinary
phenomenon
that
whereas
its
10
candidates
only
averaged
just
over
400
votes
each,
and
the
party
votes
in
their
constituencies
were
mostly
rather
less
than
that,
in
well
over
20
constituencies
where
NIP
did
not
even
have
a
candidate,
its
party
votes
were
much
higher
than
400.
Moreover,
it
seemed
that
the
farther
one
went
from
the
NIP
heartland
where
its
candidates
were
standing,
the
better
was
the
party's
performance
in
the
party
vote,
with
it
sometimes
coming
third
in
the
poll
as
in
the
remote
constituencies
of
Hloahloeng
where
it
received
950
votes
and
Semena
where
it
received
902
votes.
Surely
an
incident
unique
in
the
annals
of
psephology.
What
could
be
the
explanation
of
such
a
phenomenon?
It
was
tempting
to
suggest
that
some
BNP
fundamentalists
unhappy
that
the
party
was
now
run
by
Lekhanya,
the
man
who
had
overthrown
Leabua
Jonathan,
might
have
deliberately
voted
for
the
party
with
policies
closest
to
the
original
BNP.
However,
comparing
votes
for
BNP
constituency
candidates
with
those
for
the
BNP
as
a
party
in
the
same
constituency
showed
figures
which
closely
corresponded,
making
this
theory
unsupportable
except
perhaps
for
a
very
few
votes.
The
answer
in
fact
was
to
be
found
by
examining
the
printed
ballot
papers
themselves.
At
the
polling
booths
electors
had
first
to
vote
using
a
pink
ballot
paper
for
a
party
candidate,
and
the
LCD
and
NIP
candidates,
even
if
one
was
unable
to
read
their
names
or
the
party
names,
were
clearly
distinguished
by
their
symbols,
those
of
an
eagle
and
a
dove.
There
was
not
much
chance
of
an
error
there,
particularly
if
the
candidates
names
were
known,
and
of
course
in
70
out
of
the
80
constituencies
there
was
only
a
single
bird,
that
of
the
LCD.
However
voters
then
proceeded
to
a
second
vote
on
a
white
ballot
paper,
where
the
party
symbols
were
respectively
a
black
eagle
and
a
black
dove,
a
white
dove
being
obviously
difficult
to
represent
on
white
paper.
The
LCD
had
been
exhorting
its
voters
khetha
nonyana,
choose
the
bird,
apparently
forgetting
that
there
was
another
party
whose
symbol
was
a
bird.
In
any
case
it
could
hardly
have
urged
its
voters
to
khetha
ntsu,
choose
the
eagle,
because
a
portrait
of
Ntsu
Ntsu
Mokhehle,
the
man
had
been
allowed,
despite
LCD
opposition
in
the
courts,
as
the
party
symbol
for
its
rival
breakaway
party,
the
LPC.
So
it
seems
that
when
LCD
supporters
came
to
vote
for
a
bird,
a
significant
number
simply
chose
the
wrong
bird.
Analysis
of
voting
patterns
in
particular
constituencies
appears
to
confirm
this
theory.
For
example
at
Machache
Constituency
no.
38,
the
LCD
candidate
received
5257
votes,
but
in
the
party
ballot,
LCD
received
4622
votes
and
NIP
669.
4622
+
669
=
5291,
very
close
to
and
slightly
above
5257,
which
allows
for
NIP
getting
a
few
votes
from
its
own
supporters.
Again
in
the
next
constituency,
Thaba
Putsoa
Constituency
no.
39,
the
LCD
candidate
received
4832
votes,
while
the
party
votes
were
4311
and
567
for
LCD
and
NIP
respectively.
4311
+
567
=
4878,
again
slightly
above
the
4832
for
the
candidate.
The
pattern
is
repeated
in
many
constituencies,
although
it
is
somewhat
obscured
in
the
several
constituencies
where
there
were
independent
candidates
who
achieved
high
totals,
and
whose
supporters
obviously
could
not
vote
for
them
in
the
party
ballot.
The
NIP
party
leader,
the
octagenarian
A.
C.
Manyeli
,
was
interviewed
on
the
radio
on
Tuesday
28
May.
Unlike
the
leaders
of
the
other
opposition
parties
who
were
trying
to
find
fault
with
the
election
to
explain
why
they
had
not
done
as
well
as
expected,
Manyeli
was
clearly
totally
surprised
by
what
had
happened
and
that
his
party,
which
had
never
won
any
seats
in
Parliament
before,
was
suddenly
going
to
receive
five
proportional
representation
seats.
He
himself
could
only
account
for
what
had
happened
by
people
having
chosen
the
wrong
bird.
Little
did
he
know,
when
the
party
had
chosen
the
dove
of
peace,
leeba
la
khotso,
as
the
party
emblem
that
it
would
bring
such
a
windfall
a
quarter
of
a
century
later
from
voters
who
mistook
doves
for
eagles.
▲back
to top
The
proportional
representation
rules
require
a
great
deal
of
arithmetic
to
be
undertaken
to
calculate
the
entitlement
of
each
of
the
16
parties
competing
in
the
proportional
representation
component
of
the
election
to
compensatory
parliamentary
seats.
Overall,
including
elected
seats,
the
result
is
LCD
77,
BNP
21,
LPC
5,
NIP
5,
BAC
3,
BCP
3,
PFD
1,
LWP
1,
MFP
1
and
NPP
1,
so
that
there
are
ten
parties
represented
in
the
new
Parliament.
▲back
to top
68.1%
of
the
total
of
831
315
registered
voters
turned
out
to
vote
in
the
election
on
25
May
2001.
Of
these
554
386
or
66.7%
voted
for
one
of
the
16
parties
in
the
proportional
representation
vote.
The
difference
is
accounted
for
by
persons
who
voted
only
in
the
constituency
vote,
and
by
spoiled
papers,
of
which
there
were
quite
large
numbers
in
both
votes.
These
possibly
were
largely
accounted
for
because
voters
had
been
advised
to
vote
twice,
and
a
number
of
them
interpreted
this
to
mean
that
they
could
put
two
crosses
on
their
ballot
papers.
Such
ballot
papers
were
regarded
as
spoilt.
▲back
to top
The
General
Election
was
observed
by
several
hundred
different
observers
from
different
groups,
and
without
exception
they
found
the
election
to
have
been
free
and
fair,
even
though
some
minor
hitches
were
noted
and
the
slowness
with
which
results
were
announced
meant
that
some
observers
left
Lesotho
before
the
overall
result
was
known.
One
person
who
did
not
share
the
view
of
the
observers,
was
the
leader
of
the
Basotho
National
Party,
Major
General
J.
M.
Lekhanya.
His
press
statement
was
printed
in
the
party
newspaper,
Mohlanka,
of
7
June
2002,
and
contains
the
following:
"It
is
with
great
sadness
that
we
have
seen
the
results
of
the
2002
elections
bearing
the
1998
syndrome
in
the
form
of
the
uniform
pattern
of
victory
margins
for
the
LCD
throughout
the
country.
Although
foreign
and
local
election
observers
have
given
the
elections
a
clean
bill
of
health,
they
have
not
endeavoured
to
explain
this
curious
phenomenon."
Lekhanya
called
for
an
audit
of
the
results,
but
in
the
meantime
his
party
would
accept
the
21
proportional
representation
seats
allocated
under
these
questionable
election
results.
▲back
to top
Each
party
contesting
the
election
could
nominate
both
candidates
for
constituencies
and
candidates
for
election
by
proportional
representation,
this
second
list
to
contain
at
least
40
and
not
more
than
120
candidates.
That
three
parties
failed
to
submit
such
a
list
suggests
that
they
may
have
had
difficulty
in
finding
40
names,
particularly
given
that
the
election
regulations
forbid
civil
servants
to
stand
as
candidates.
Most
parties
placed
the
party
leaders
in
the
top
places,
a
necessary
precaution
in
most
cases,
and
most
of
those
standing
for
Parliament
occupied
the
following
places,
making
it
necessary,
perhaps
invidiously
in
some
cases,
to
provide
a
ranking
of
the
senior
party
supporters
thought
worthy
of
Parliamentary
office.
As
has
been
seen
the
Basotho
National
Party
won
the
largest
number
of
compensatory
seats,
and
the
21
top
names
on
the
party's
list
were
therefore
due
to
become
Members
of
Parliament.
At
the
top
of
the
list
were
Justin
Metsing
Lekhanya,
the
party
leader,
and
Bereng
Sekhonyana,
his
deputy.
Other
expected
names
were
there,
such
as
the
General
Secretary,
Leseteli
Malefane,
the
veteran
politicians,
Lekhooana
Jonathan
and
Mooki
Molapo,
and
also
one
or
two
names
from
Lekhanya's
military
past,
such
as
the
former
Colonel
Thaabe
Letsie,
who
had
stood
as
a
candidate
in
the
Qeme
constituency.
Amongst
other
familiar
names
was
the
former
radio
announcer,
Morapeli
Motaung
,
and
also
Ranthomeng
Matete,
Chief
of
Morija,
a
member
of
the
Council
of
Ministers
during
military
rule,
and
more
recently
the
Secretary
of
the
Interim
Political
Authority.
However,
the
list
rather
surprisingly
also
contained
eight
names
of
persons
not
generally
known
as
politicians,
of
whom
the
highest
on
the
list
at
sixth
place
was
Masupha
Sole.
At
about
the
same
time
that
the
list
was
published,
he
was
due
to
begin
18
years
in
gaol.
It
was
apparent
that
these
eight
persons
must
have
been
placed
on
the
list
as
a
reward
for
supporting
the
party's
expensive
election
campaign
in
financial
or
perhaps
other
ways.
The
fact
that
Sole
came
highest
presumably
indicated
that
his
had
been
the
greatest
contribution,
and
if
so,
it
provided
at
least
one
clue
as
to
what
had
happened
to
some
of
the
money
which
had
been
misappropriated
from
the
LHDA
or
had
been
received
in
bribes.
Apart
from
Sole,
one
other
on
the
list
of
21
BNP
compensatory
seats
was
also
unlikely
to
take
a
seat
in
Parliament.
This
was
Joseph
Kaibe
Mollo,
a
former
diplomat,
but
now
a
businessman
resident
in
Johannesburg.
The
National
Independence
Party
of
Anthony
Clovis
Manyeli,
as
has
been
seen,
received
five
seats,
the
second
largest
number
of
compensatory
seats,
and
as
a
result
the
party
leader
took
his
seat
as
the
oldest
Member
of
Parliament
he
was
born
in
1913
together
with
four
party
supporters,
only
two
of
whom
had
fought
the
election
as
constituency
candidates.
The
Lesotho
People's
Congress
also
won
five
Parliamentary
seats,
that
of
the
party
leader,
Kelebone
Maope,
being
won
in
the
Seqonoka
constituency,
while
the
other
four
were
compensatory
seats.
It
appears
that
the
party
leaders,
Maope
and
Shakhane
Mokhehle,
were
so
confident
that
they
would
win
that
they
did
not
bother
to
put
themselves
at
the
head
of
the
party
list
for
compensatory
seats.
In
Maope's
case
this
was
justified,
but
Shakhane
Mokhehle,
who
lost
by
just
nine
votes,
no
longer
has
a
seat
in
Parliament.
At
the
head
of
the
LPC
list
was
a
former
Minister
of
Finance,
Victor
Leketekete
Ketso,
treasurer
of
the
party,
and
he
together
with
three
other
senior
party
members
took
their
seats
in
Parliament.
The
party
which
had
fought
the
1998
election
as
the
Basutoland
Congress
Party
had
by
2002
split
into
two
parts,
one
having
taken
the
original
name
of
the
party,
the
Basutoland
African
Congress,
founded
in
1952,
of
which
the
leader,
Molapo
Qhobela,
had
long
ago
been
a
member.
Both
the
BCP
and
BAC
won
three
compensatory
seats,
and
both
Qhobela
and
the
BCP
leader,
T'seliso
Makhakhe,
are
in
Parliament.
Qhobela's
deputy,
Khauhelo
Ralitapole,
a
former
Minister
of
Health,
is
also
in
Parliament.
There
remain
four
parties
which
each
won
one
compensatory
seat,
and
in
each
case
the
party
leader
will
be
in
Parliament:
Lekhetho
Rakuoane
of
the
Popular
Front
for
Democracy,
with
close
links
to
the
Congress
of
Lesotho
Trade
Unions
(COLETU);
Billy
Macaefa
of
the
Lesotho
Workers
Party,
which
is
a
party
based
on
grass
roots
support
mainly
from
factory
workers
and
members
of
LECAWU,
the
Lesotho
Clothing
and
Allied
Workers
Union;
Vincent
Malebo
of
the
Marematlou
Freedom
Party,
one
of
the
oldest
political
parties,
which
has
long
advocated
more
powers
for
the
King
and
chieftainship;
and
Peete
Peete
of
the
National
Progressive
Party,
a
splinter
group
from
the
Basotho
National
Party,
and
led
by
a
veteran
former
BNP
cabinet
minister.
Four
of
ther
2002
elected
MPs
have
experience
going
back
to
the
first
Lesotho
National
Assembly,
elected
in
April
1965.
They
are
Mopshatla
Mabitle,
MP
for
Qalo;
in
1965
he
was
MP
for
nearby
Hololo;
Sephiri
Motanyane
now,
as
in
1965,
MP
for
Malibamat'so;
A.
C.
Manyeli
who
in
1965
won
the
Maama
constituency
for
the
BNP,
but
now
holds
a
NIP
compensatory
seat;
and
Peete
Peete
with
a
NPP
compensatory
seat.
In
1965,
Peete
Peete
achieved
a
close
victory
in
the
Koeneng
constituency,
with
2845
votes,
over
his
BCP
rival
Ntsukunyane
Mphanya,
with
2670.
Remarkably,
Mphanya
was
also
contesting
the
2002
election,
still
as
a
BCP
candidate
in
essentially
the
same
constituency,
now
called
Bela
Bela.
In
2002,
Peete
Peete
with
675
votes
still
beat
Mphanya
with
471
votes.
However,
times
had
changed,
because
they
were
now
in
third
and
fourth
places,
Bela
Bela
being
won
by
the
LCD
candidate
with
3002
votes,
trailed
by
the
BNP
candidate
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