524   …as Platcorp wants Justice Mosito off case  …accuses him of bias and usurping CJ Sakoane’s powers  Staff Reporters  PLATCORP Holdings Limited has asked  Court of Appeal President, Justice Kananelo Mosito, to recuse himself from adjudicating its dispute with  directors of its subsidiary Platinum Credit.  The recusal application comes in the wake of justice Mosito’s bizarre behaviour on Boxing Day 2024  in which he corralled his court to sit on a day that courts have never been known to convene.  Platcorp lists in its papers a number of instances in which Justice Mosito is alleged to have shown bias against the company.  Platcorp has been fighting a multi-year legal battle to get its more than M280 million investment into Platinum Credit. It had invested the money into the micro lending business during the Covid-19 pandemic around 2020 before its directors fell out with the woman they had entrusted to manage their significant investment in...

306 Moorosi Tsiane  MOTLATSI Maqelepo remains suspended as Basotho Action Party (BAP) deputy leader despite a court order lifting his seven-year suspension from the party.  This according to a statement issued by the BAP’s central executive committee (CEC) this week after the High Court set aside last week’s suspensions of Mr Maqelepo and the party’s parliamentary caucus chairman, Tello Kibane. Mr Kibane had been suspended for five years.  They were suspended despite their pending High Court case challenging BAP leader, Professor Nqosa Mahao, and the CEC’s decision to subject the duo and others to a disciplinary process.  Justice Molefi Makara this week granted interim reliefs, staying any action against Messrs Maqelepo and Kibane pending the finalisation of their main High Court application.  Justice Makara’s ruling effectively nullifies the BAP’s actions but the party thinks otherwise, possibly vindicating Mr Maqelepo’s argument that it pays lip service to the rule of law despite its leader Mahao being a law professor.  Justice Makara further ruled that the High...

249 …by “deliberately” delaying state projects  …As airport upgrade budget skyrockets from M50 million to M184 million  Mohloai Mpesi  THE parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has accused construction giant, LSP Construction, of “milking” the state by “deliberately” delaying projects while escalating their costs.  The PAC spoke this week after it learned that the cost of refurbishment of Moshoeshoe I International Airport had escalated from an initial M50 million to M184 million.  It said this debacle mirrored that of the construction of the Royal Palace, which has still not been completed 15 years after construction started in 2010. The budget for the palace has since escalated from an initial M170 million to more than M450 million with the project still uncompleted.  The PAC is concerned that the airport upgrade project will follow the Royal Palace route with more budget increases on the way. Both the Royal Palace project and the Moshoeshoe I Airport upgrade are being undertaken by LSP Construction, as the main contractor.  Acting PAC chairman, Montoeli Masoetsa, came out guns blazing...

7.4K Staff Reporter THE Independent Democratic Union of Lesotho (IDUL), which represents numerous textile workers nationwide, has distanced itself from reports alleging verbal abuse of its members by the management of Presitex Enterprises. IDUL is pursuing disciplinary action against its Deputy Secretary General, Clark Letsie, who is accused of jeopardising over 2000 jobs at Presitex. According to IDUL President ’Manthabiseng Khemane and Secretary General May Rathakane, Mr Letsie acted without authorisation in handling the verbal abuse allegations. They suspect he may have been pursuing other external people’s agendas. “Firstly, we firmly oppose unfair labour practices and are committed to protecting our members,” Mr Rathakane told the Lesotho Times. “When issues arise, we engage employers to seek amicable solutions, resorting to legal action only as a last resort.” Mr Rathakane condemned Mr Letsie’s approach, stating that they never authorised him to speak about that issue. They were not even aware of...

1.8K Mohloai Mpesi  WHILE the rest of the kingdom rejoiced during this festive season, it was not the case in  Mafeteng district  which  faced a critical shortage of water throughout the festive period.  A local law firm is now threatening legal action against the Water and Sewage Company (WASCO) for “denying” local Mafeteng communities access to this vital resource.  A rights group has also jumped onto the bandwagon in solidarity.  Advocate Fusi Sehapi, a renowned human rights lawyer representing Goldman Mustard Inc., and Section II Advocates for the Supremacy of the Constitution, have called on both the Minister of Health, Selibe Mochoboroane, and his Natural Resources counterpart, Mohlomi Moleko, to swiftly address the severe water crisis affecting the district.  In his letter to Mr Mochoboroane, dated 24 December 2024, Advocate Sehapi said it was the government’s responsibility to ensure that all communities were adequately provided with water.  Failure to comply,...

2.5K THONTṦO Moepi, a police officer stationed at the Makhaleng Police Station in Mohale’s Hoek, believes she is being victimised over her efforts to account for guns that have gone missing at the station.  She is now seeking a High Court interdict to stop her impending transfer to Maseru.  Inspector Moepi wants the High Court to compel Commissioner of Police, Adv Borotho Matsoso, to place the transfer on hold until the issue of the missing guns at her station is resolved.  The case was denied urgency this week by Justice Ts’eliso Mokoko but Insp Moepi, who is being represented by Adv Christopher Lephuthing, is determined to fight on.     Insp Moepi has been transferred to Maseru with effect from the 25th of this month, to become a legal officer at the police headquarters, while also retaining her position as the head of the stock theft division in Makhaleng.   However, the officer is...

2.1K The admission and enrollment of foreign legal practitioners in South Africa recently came under the judicial spotlight when an advocate who is a Lesotho national challenged certain provisions of the Legal Practice Act which are standing in her way from practising law in South Africa.  Lihaelo Molapo (applicant) turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in her bid against the Minister of Justice and the Legal Practice Council (LPC).  The applicant is a foreign legal practitioner and, in terms of existing law, does not qualify to be admitted as a legal practitioner to practice law in South Africa. She contended that the law, as it stands, is unconstitutional and that the previous dispensation regarding the admission of advocates should be “revived”.  In the alternative, she contended that the Minister of Justice should regulate the admission of foreign practitioners in such a fashion that she (and others in her position)...

2.4K Mohloai Mpesi  THE ruling Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) spokesperson, Mokhethi Shelile, has launched a scathing attack on Basotho Action Party (BAP) leader, Professor Nqosa Mahao, accusing him of lacking expertise to lead a serious political party.  According to Mr Shelile, Prof Mahao should reflect on his leadership journey and acknowledge that he is a political novice and the primary reason behind the chaos plaguing the BAP, solely because he lacks the necessary expertise and personality to effectively manage his party.  Mr Shelile, who also  serves as the Minister of Trade, Industry and Business Development in Prime Minister Sam Matekane’s coalition government, made these remarks after Prof Mahao, a former energy minister expelled by the premier from cabinet  last November, accused the RFP of engineering the BAP’s internal turmoil.  Addressing a recent BAP rally in Leribe district recently, Prof Mahao alleged that the RFP was on a “crusade” to destroy...