Moorosi Tsiane
A bitter power struggle has erupted within the body responsible for overseeing Lesotho’s Global Fund monies, with Lesotho Country Coordinating Mechanism (LCCM) Chairperson, Motlatsi Mofolo, rushing to the High Court to block what he describes as an unlawful attempt to remove him from office.
Mr Mofolo has filed an urgent application seeking to stop a special LCCM meeting scheduled for today (Thursday), at which members are expected to discuss re-opening the election for the position of chairperson.
He argues that the move is part of a calculated effort by some members to remove him from the helm of the organisation and replace him with a government representative from the Ministry of Health.
The LCCM is a national coordinating body established in line with Global Fund requirements. It serves as the governance and oversight mechanism responsible for coordinating, monitoring and overseeing the mobilisation and use of Global Fund grants in Lesotho for programmes targeting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Mr Mofolo has cited the LCCM, its Secretariat, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance and the Attorney General as respondents.
In his application, he wants the court to interdict the special meeting and prevent the LCCM from discussing, voting on or implementing any decision concerning the chairpersonship until the matter has been fully heard and determined.
The dispute stems from elections held during the first constitutive sitting of the current LCCM in January 2026, when Mr Mofolo was elected chairperson.
Following the elections, complaints were lodged by some members over the participation of alternate members in the voting process. Among those who raised concerns were Thakane Manthethi Kotelo, an alternate representative of People Living with HIV, and Bacha Re Bacha Executive Director, only identified in court papers as Dube.
According to Mr Mofolo, the complainants challenged the validity of the election of the chairperson only, not the entire election process, which is “wrong”. He argues that if the election process was riddled with irregularities, it should affect all positions and not only the chairperson’s position.
He argues that if the participation of alternate members rendered the elections defective, then all positions elected during the process would be affected and not only the chairpersonship.
“The alleged defect, if correct, would affect the whole process and not one position only,” Mr Mofolo states in his court papers.
He accuses some LCCM members of selectively relying on the complaints as a basis for reopening only the election of the chairperson while leaving all other elected office bearers untouched.
According to him, the real issue is not the participation of alternate members but an attempt by some members to ensure that government assumes leadership of the organisation.
He claims certain members believe the Ministry of Health or government should chair the LCCM because government manages a significant portion of Global Fund-supported programmes.
Mr Mofolo argues that while such a view may be politically or administratively desirable to some members, it is not supported by the organisation’s by-laws.
“The by-laws do not say that the Ministry of Health must chair the LCCM. They also do not say that government must chair the LCCM. They say that the chair is elected from among the domestic sectors of the LCCM,” he states.
He further argues that minutes of an Extraordinary LCCM Meeting held on 20 March 2026 show that concerns over the election process were discussed separately from proposals that government should assume the chairmanship.
According to him, members resolved that if elections were to be repeated, the entire process should be redone rather than reopening a single position.
“The LCCM resolved to hold the elections again at a date that they would agree on,” he states.
Mr Mofolo contends that the planned special meeting contradicts that resolution because it seeks to revisit only the office of chairperson.
He argues that there is currently no vacancy in the position and that no court or competent authority has declared his election invalid.
“There is no vacancy in the office of chairperson. There has also been no lawful declaration by a competent court or competent body that the election of the chairperson alone was invalid,” he states.
He further describes the move as discriminatory because it singles out his office while preserving the legitimacy of all other positions elected during the same process.
“If the by-laws mean that the first election process was invalid because of the participation of alternate members, then the whole election process must fall and not only the chairpersonship,” he argues.
Mr Mofolo maintains that any attempt to remove him through a chairperson-only election would be irrational, unlawful and contrary to the principle of equality among LCCM members.
The High Court is expected to determine whether the special meeting can proceed while the broader dispute over the leadership of the country’s Global Fund grants oversight body remains unresolved.
