Khomo-ea-Mollo Mafokotsane
JUST as Jesus cured a man of paralysis in Mark 2:5, any sane and intellectually sound person would have thought that the Prime Minister’s Political Advisor, Dr Fako Likoti, through his article “Sejanamane’s paralysis of analysis” (Lesotho Times, 31 March 2016) would have healed Prof Mafa Sejanamane’s paralysis of analysis. But true to his nature as evidenced by his record as the former Vice-Chancellor of NUL, and as is the case with most within the All Basotho Convention (ABC), the prof is at it yet again.
Ntate Sejanamane, being a fear monger that he is, has published what can only be termed a contemptible wish list in his blog Lesothoanalysis, in which he is attempting to throw the government and its supporters into a panic mode. His absurd disdain for the present government, probably as a result of bitterness at the fact that his ABC messed up an opportunity to stay in power, oozes from the top of his forehead.
Ntate Sejanamane claims that the January 2016 summit came as an “intervention by SADC in the affairs of a member state, which seemed unable to handle criminal cases of murder of a former Commander of its forces…” This repulsive statement only serves to undermine the efforts of the government after the unfortunate passing of the then Lt-Gen Maaparankoe Mahao. The prof characteristically neglects to mention that it was Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili who approached SADC to set up the inquiry, and it was not the initiative of the regional bloc as he wants to portray it. It is imperative here to remind the prof that it was well within the government’s rights to establish that commission of inquiry. With his wealth of experience and intelligence, Ntate Mosisili, knew that because of the cacophony of noises that Ntate Sejanamane and opposition would likely make regarding the credibility of such a commission, took this drastic step to request SADC to institute such a commission.
He further claims that leaders of the opposition parties had fled the country as a result of “credible threats to their lives”. How does one define such conflicting stories as credible, given the fact that there were at least two versions of exactly how the message that former premier Thomas Thabane’s life was in danger, was actually delivered to him? One version is that while he was dining with his partner in a Maseru hotel, one of his bodyguards came to warn him that an attack on him was imminent; while the other claims that such a message came while he was on his way home and they had to change course to avoid being ambushed. This was a well woven, albeit. I can already sense Ntate Sejanamane’s egotism when he states that the letter by Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi is one step towards the implementation of the recommendations. Surely, Ntate Sejanamane is not trying to put a crown of glory on the head of President Nyusi, whose army is reported to have torched homes and barns of ordinary Mozambicans in January 2016 in his hunt for opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama, a move that has seen an influx of thousands of Mozambican refugees into neighbouring Malawi. And again, as Dr Likoti did, I will remind Ntate Sejanamane that Lesotho is a sovereign state that commands respect from the likes of President Nyusi.
The prof talks about “the tussle between SADC and the government of Lesotho”. Dear prof, there is no tussle between the two. What exists is an institution SADC, which tried to no avail to instil fear in our prime minister and his government. On the issue of relieving the army commander Lieutenant-General Tlali Kamoli of his duties, Ntate Sejanamane, you are wasting your energy sir. If he is ever relieved, it would be on the present government’s terms and not yours nor the ABC’s.
You claim that SADC has directed the government to facilitate the return of all exiles and provide security for the exiled political leaders. Are you talking about your leader who, subsequent to agreeing to return home after a meeting with Ntate Mosisili, grotesquely claimed that the document was only minutes of what they talked about and not a commitment to return home? Are you talking about Ntate Motsoahae who, after a lot of lamentation, was offered a government house and police protection which he had asked for, but now claims he can only come to Lesotho if he is offered SADC security?
“The government is fearful of the retribution of Kamoli should they try to remove him. They are aware of his earlier declaration that he will not leave office.”
This statement is not only ludicrous but is also preposterous. The prof wilfully forgets here that the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) has sworn to defend this country from enemies abroad and domestic. This includes the prime minister if they overstep their boundaries. What Prof Sejanamane is wailing about here is Lt-Gen Kamoli’s stance when Ntate Motsoahae tried to shove the army into his pocket like he did with the police. The Prof also says “…the government had been regularly making (arguments) that it will pick and choose those recommendations it felt like”. The prof argues that since the summit had directed that recommendations be implemented in full, this will have to be done. As many before me had already done, I will remind the prof that indeed there is a reason why those are called recommendations. They are not binding, period. Ntate Mosisili will never be held liable by anyone for saying that some of the recommendations will never see the light of day, for the reasons that he gave when he came back from the SADC meeting.
Lastly, the prof yet again talks about the “scenario whereby an expeditionary force is dispatched to disarm and arrest the suspected criminals for prosecution”. I wish to reserve my comments on this one. The reason being that if Dr Likoti, who did so much good work in trying to cure Prof Sejanamane’s paralysis could not in the end achieve that objective, my efforts will have been in vain since Dr Likoti expertly responded to this malicious claim by the prof. I would suggest that Prof Sejanamane and a larger portion of the ABC supporters take positive measures to rid themselves of unnecessary stress that is seemingly clouding their health at the moment. A good start would be to accept that the ABC is no longer in government due their own recklessness, and the present government needs to keep busy with improving people’s lives, and not waste its time with the likes of Prof Sejanamane.
