Moorosi Tsiane
FORMER Prime Minister, Dr Moeketsi Majoro, has placed former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Temeki Tšolo, at the centre of the controversial Frazer Solar deal, telling the High Court that he signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) without Cabinet approval and in violation of government financial procedures.
The former Prime Minister’s yesterday evidence appeared to bolster the Crown’s case that Tšolo acted beyond his ministerial authority in pursuing an agreement with German businessman Robert Frazer, which eventually exposed Lesotho to a £50 million (approximately M856 million) legal claim.
Dr Majoro’s testimony came as Tšolo returned to the dock following a Court of Appeal decision ordering that his criminal trial be returned to the High Court for a fresh hearing.
The apex court overturned the August 2025 ruling by High Court’s Justice Tšeliso Mokoko, which had permanently stayed the criminal proceedings against Mr Tšolo.
Justice Mokoko had criticised the DCEO for repeatedly failing to prosecute the matter despite having what he described as adequate resources at its disposal.
He faulted the prosecution for failing to proceed with trial hearings scheduled for the weeks of 21 October 2024 and 18 August 2025, finding that the delays unfairly prejudiced Tšolo.
The trial is now proceeding before Justice ‘Mafelile Ralebese.
The first Crown witness, former Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office ‘Masentle Ntobaki, had on Tuesday detailed how Frazer allegedly maintained close contact with Tšolo between September 2017 and May 2018, frequently visiting his office and communicating with him through emails.
Testifying under examination-in-chief by lead prosecutor Jay Naidoo SC, Ms Ntobaki told the court that she was once handed a bulky MoU and instructed to take it to Tšolo to verify its contents and sign it.
She said Tšolo later returned the document and directed her to send it to the Cabinet Secretariat for registration and numbering before it could be presented to Cabinet.
“At one time the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was sent to me and I was instructed to give it to Mr Tšolo to verify whether everything they agreed on was included. When Ntate Tšolo was done with it, he gave it back to me and directed that I send it to the Cabinet Secretariat for it to be registered and given a number.
“So I did as I was instructed by him and the document was registered and given the number. It was presented before Cabinet on 12 June 2018,” Ms Ntobaki testified.
However, the MoU’s presentation before Cabinet did not go as Tšolo had apparently hoped.
Ms Ntobaki said shortly after the Cabinet meeting that day, Tšolo stormed into her office visibly angry and informed her that Cabinet had withdrawn the document and wanted it redrafted.
“He said he had lobbied some ministers who had promised that they would support him, but they did not during the meeting,” she told the court.
She further testified that Tšolo subsequently told her to expect a revised draft MoU from Frazer.
Ms Ntobaki said that around 10 August 2018, she received a letter from the German businessman requesting her to arrange a meeting between him and officials from the Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC) and the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC).
Asked whether it was normal for Frazer to issue instructions to her, Ms Ntobaki said she would first consult Tšolo before acting on them.
“I would normally inform the Minister when he does give me orders and if the Minister approves, then I would carry out such instructions. So even in this case, I did arrange for such a meeting between Frazer, LNDC and LEC,” she said.
Dr Majoro, who testified as the second Crown witness, then gave the court an account of what transpired when the controversial MoU was presented before Cabinet.
He confirmed that Tšolo had signed the document before Cabinet approval and said the matter was eventually stopped after he and the then Minister of Energy raised concerns about its contents.
Dr Majoro told the court that the then Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet chairperson, Monyane Moleleki, questioned whether he, as Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Energy had been consulted about the proposed agreement.
Both indicated that they had neither been informed about nor agreed to its contents.
“When the matter was tabled before the Cabinet, I flagged it before the then chairperson of the Cabinet, Monyane Moleleki.
“Ntate Moleleki then asked me as the Minister of Finance and the then Minister of Energy whether we had been informed about the MoU and whether we concurred with its contents, and we both said we did not.
“That was enough to kill such MoU and Mr Tšolo was not allowed to proceed with the matter. Tšolo did not take highly to our deliberations and he stormed out of the Cabinet meeting,” Dr Majoro testified.
He further denied ever authorising Tšolo to sign any agreement on behalf of the Lesotho government that carried financial implications.
Dr Majoro explained that whenever he was absent as Minister of Finance, his deputy would act in his place, adding that Tšolo had never served as acting Minister of Finance.
“In my absence as the Minister of Finance, the deputy minister is the one who remains acting and Tšolo has never been acting Minister of Finance. I cannot recall ever getting any correspondence from Tšolo that he signed any agreement on behalf of the government, but this issue was brought to my attention in 2021,” he said.
The two witnesses testified after Adv Naidoo, in his opening address, told the court that the Crown would demonstrate that Tšolo abused his ministerial position to enter into the MoU with Frazer and his company, Frazer Solar, without the necessary Cabinet approval.
Adv Naidoo said the agreement exposed the government to financial prejudice amounting to approximately M856 million, despite Tšolo allegedly knowing that he had no authority to bind the country to such obligations without an express Cabinet resolution.
“By signing the MoU, Mr Tšolo usurped the position and powers of the Attorney General and the Minister of Finance. Tšolo’s conduct was designed and directed for providing undue benefit to Frazer Solar and Robert Frazer,” Adv Naidoo said.
The prosecutor further alleged that Tšolo knew Cabinet had not approved the agreement but deliberately proceeded with it to benefit the German company.
He said the Crown would also establish that Tšolo concealed the subsequent arbitration proceedings from the Attorney General, who should have been served with the relevant documents to enable the government to defend itself.
According to Adv Naidoo, this failure resulted in an arbitration award being issued against Lesotho without the government having an opportunity to defend its position, eventually leading to the attachment of some of the country’s assets in South Africa.
However, Tšolo’s defence counsel, Adv Nkola Masoabi, painted a different picture, insisting that his client would deny conspiring with Frazer or acting in common purpose with him to prejudice the government for the benefit of Frazer Solar.
Adv Masoabi said Frazer had initially approached Tšolo with a proposal for solar installations, but the former minister recognised that his ministry was not responsible for the project and referred him to the Ministry of Energy, which was then headed by Mokoto Hloaele.
He said that after meeting Mr Hloaele, Frazer was referred to the then Minister of Finance, Dr Majoro, who subsequently directed him to present his proposal to other ministers and stakeholders.
The defence also intends to deny that Tšolo instructed anyone under his authority to append their signature as a witness to the signing of the controversial MoU.
Tšolo has previously denied signing the disputed agreement, which has since triggered a costly international legal battle between Lesotho and Frazer Solar.
The German company maintains that it entered into a valid agreement with the government of former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane in 2018 for the supply and installation of solar water heating systems, solar-generated electricity, LED lights and solar lanterns over a four-year period.
Frazer Solar claims the project failed to take off because Dr Majoro, who was then Minister of Finance in the Thabane administration, refused to sign the financing agreement.
The company subsequently instituted arbitration proceedings in 2019, seeking £50 million (approximately M856 million) in damages for the alleged breach of contract.
The dispute has since escalated into a major legal and financial headache for Lesotho, with the matter still pending before courts in South Africa.
The trial continues.
