Mohloai Mpesi
…as Setipa seeks to oust founder Phomane
A power struggle at internet service provider Tangerine Connect (Pty) Ltd (T-Connect) has escalated into a bitter corporate battle between its regional Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Joshua Setipa, and the Lesotho branch’s chief executive, Advocate Phelane Phomane, with allegations of fraud, corruption and corporate sabotage threatening to destabilise the company.
Mr Setipa oversees the South African and Botswana branches, while Adv Phomane, who founded the company, heads its Lesotho operations.
The dispute has spilled into the courts, with Mr Setipa seeking to remove Adv Phomane from the company and reporting allegations of fraud and corruption against him to the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO).
In January this year, Mr Setipa approached the High Court on an ex parte basis — without Adv Phomane’s knowledge — seeking an order to remove the founding CEO from T-Connect.
However, Justice Moneuoa Kopo dismissed the application, ruling that there were no grounds warranting the granting of an ex parte order.
The failed bid is the latest development in an increasingly acrimonious dispute over the ownership, management and control of T-Connect, the authorised Starlink reseller in Lesotho.
The company provides high-speed satellite internet services and says its mission is to improve connectivity across the country, particularly in remote and hard-to-reach areas. It also offers other services such as telecommunications activities, computer programming activities and computer facilities management activities among others.
Mr Setipa says allegations of fraud and corruption against Adv Phomane have been reported to the DCEO. He accuses the latter of failing to change the company’s registered names and transfer shares as allegedly agreed.
Although he declined to disclose whether he or other board members lodged the complaint, Mr Setipa confirmed that the matter was now before the DCEO.
“I can even show you where he wrote and agreed that he took their (board) money and asked to be given four years to pay it back. Why would he agree to return the money if it is not true? Why would he pledge to pay money that he does not owe? That is why they went to court to sue him. What he did was fraud,” Mr Setipa said.
“If you want to know exactly what is happening, wait two to three weeks and it will be in the public domain. The DCEO will announce that it is investigating this matter.”
Mr Setipa said the T-Connect board had resolved to remove Adv Phomane, insisting that the dispute was not merely a personal fight between the two executives.
“The resolutions are there, where the board took decisions to remove him. I am not the only one who wants him removed. The owners of the money want their money.
“When you come to me and say we should start a business, and after a year I realise that the company is still registered in your name, you have not changed the names and have not transferred shares as agreed in the board minutes, is that not tantamount to fraud? That is what happened. It is fraud,” he said.
Contacted for comment, the DCEO confirmed that it had received a report alleging corruption against T-Connect.
DCEO spokesperson, ‘Matlhokomeolo Senoko, told the Lesotho Times that the report had not yet been considered by the directorate’s panel.
“We have received a report alleging corruption against T-Connect. The report is yet to be placed before the DCEO panel, which will determine whether the matter qualifies for investigation by the DCEO,” she said.
A company divided
T-Connect launched Starlink services in Lesotho in June 2025 at a ceremony held at AVANI Maseru.
Starlink is the satellite internet service owned by billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
At the launch, T-Connect, whose Group Chairperson is Nolo Letele, announced ambitious plans to create 10 000 direct and 50 000 indirect jobs, alongside a nationwide rollout of community internet hotspots.
Adv Phomane featured prominently at the launch as the company’s chief executive. He also announced plans for Starlink-powered artificial intelligence data centres in Southern Africa in collaboration with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).
However, the company’s leadership structure changed in November 2025 when T-Connect announced the appointment of Mr Setipa as Group CEO with immediate effect.
At the time, Adv Phomane was described as a key shareholder who would explore other African markets as part of the company’s expansion strategy.
T-Connect is reported to have expanded beyond Lesotho into markets including Zambia, Mauritius, Botswana and Uganda.
Mr Setipa, a former Minister of Trade and Industry who served from 2015 to 2017, has held senior positions at the World Trade Organization, World Bank, United Nations Technology Bank and Commonwealth Secretariat.
He was endorsed by Lesotho and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as a candidate for Commonwealth Secretary-General in 2024 but lost to Ghana’s then Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, at the election in Apia, Samoa, in October that year.
Sabotage allegations
The leadership dispute has also been accompanied by allegations that Mr Setipa is deliberately undermining T-Connect Lesotho to frustrate Adv Phomane and force him out.
Sources close to the company allege that Mr Setipa has repeatedly sought to sabotage its operations and has lobbied shareholders to remove Adv Phomane from heading the Lesotho branch.
A source who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal said Mr Setipa was doing everything possible to ensure the company failed.
“He is sabotaging and doing everything he can for the company to fail,” the source said.
The source further alleged that Mr Setipa continued to present himself as T-Connect Lesotho’s CEO and had instructed major clients not to pay for services rendered.
“He has told major clients not to pay for the services they received. In some instances, he intentionally called himself CEO of T-Connect Lesotho and confused clients about who leads the company, even after the court judgement,” the source said.
The source also alleged that Mr Setipa had attempted to interfere with the company’s systems through South African associates, in an effort to disrupt client services.
“He also attempted to hack the T-Connect systems through South African people and disrupt client services. This was prevented by the company’s local team,” the source said.
Court rejects Setipa
Mr Setipa’s initial attempt to unseat Adv Phomane suffered a setback in the courts after the High Court dismissed an urgent ex parte application seeking to wrest control of T-Connect Lesotho from its founding chief executive.
The application, launched on 19 December 2025 without Adv Phomane’s knowledge, was brought by T-Connect South Africa, Mr Setipa and Bafana Herbet Ncube as the first to third applicants. Tangerine Connect Lesotho, Adv Phomane, First National Bank Lesotho, Nedbank Lesotho, Standard Lesotho Bank, the Registrar of Companies and the Attorney General were cited as respondents.
Among other reliefs, Mr Setipa and his co-applicants sought an order restoring possession and control of T-Connect Lesotho’s daily operations to Mr Setipa.
They also sought full and undisturbed access to the company’s premises opposite Mpilo Boutique Hotel in Maseru, as well as administrative control of the business and its bank accounts.
The applicants further sought the immediate freezing of T-Connect Lesotho’s bank accounts, including any other accounts held in the company’s name, pending the finalisation of the matter.
However, Justice Kopo dismissed the bid, ruling that there was nothing warranting the granting of an ex parte order.
The court struck the matter off the urgent roll with costs against Mr Setipa and T-Connect South Africa, and referred the dispute to court-annexed mediation.
Setipa denies sabotage
Mr Setipa told this publication that he was a shareholder and one of the people who had established T-Connect.
He said it was absurd to suggest that he would deliberately destroy a business in which he had invested.
“If they say I hinder major clients, how can I do that when this is my company too? I am a shareholder. How can I destroy a company that I started? I am the one who brought the company to Elon Musk. It is all madness.
“I am running this company in Lesotho, Botswana and South Africa. We fell out with Adv Phomane when he wanted to betray us.
“It is not true that the court has made a judgement. Even those things he has been writing in newspapers to criticise me, it is because he knows where the problem is,” he said.
Mr Setipa maintained that T-Connect belonged to the investors who had injected money into the business, claiming Adv Phomane had not contributed financially.
“The truth is that T-Connect is my company, and I cannot work to destroy it. I want things to return to their owners, the people who injected money. Adv Phomane did not inject any money into T-Connect. It cannot be his company. He was employed, so when we dismissed him, he started doing the things that he is doing,” he said.
Back to court
Mr Setipa said efforts to resolve the dispute through mediation had failed, with the parties now returning to court.
“We went to mediation two weeks ago and it failed. We are back in court.
“If the matter had been finalised in court like your sources are saying, we would not be back in court, or having underwent mediation, and even incorporating the DCEO,” he said.
He claimed the dispute was being pursued in three jurisdictions, including Lesotho, Botswana and South Africa, where he said the matter had been reported to the Hawks.
“It is not as simple as they are telling you because it involves a lot of money, over M20 million. This case is far from being over,” he said.
The Hawks is South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, which investigates serious organised crime, corruption and commercial crime.
Mr Setipa accused Adv Phomane and his allies of avoiding the real issues surrounding the ownership of T-Connect.
“They are running from the real truth. The truth is that the owners of this company sued Adv Phomane. This is not Adv Phomane’s company,” he said.
Setipa admits lobbying shareholders
Asked whether he had lobbied other shareholders to remove Adv Phomane, Mr Setipa admitted that he had, arguing that the founding CEO was incompetent and that his removal was his responsibility.
“Yes, because he was incompetent. He was employed by me; it was my responsibility. I took him there. I came a long way with Adv Phomane. He was my personal assistant when I was the minister. So, when he started to destroy, I had to fire him.
“If he says I lobbied other shareholders, why did other shareholders sue him? Even the court papers state that they took a resolution from the board to sue him. Why would they do that if I were the only one who wanted to remove him?” he said.
Phomane disputes Setipa’s ownership claims
Contacted for comment, Adv Phomane rejected Mr Setipa’s claims that he (Setipa) owns T-Connect Lesotho, insisting that the company has never had outside shareholders and that its registered ownership can be verified through the Registrar of Companies.
Adv Phomane appears as the sole shareholder on the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Business Development trade portal.
He said while some individuals had contributed financially to the broader business venture, Mr Setipa was not among them and had never held an ownership stake in T-Connect Lesotho.
“Mr Joshua Setipa was not among the individuals who made financial contributions to the business venture and he has never had any ownership role in T-Connect Lesotho,” Adv Phomane said.
He acknowledged that there had been discussions about the possible participation of certain individuals in the Lesotho business but said these never resulted in a concluded agreement granting them shares.
“As the business relationship developed, it became apparent to me that we had fundamental differences in our expectations, approach and vision for the business. I ultimately made the decision that I could not continue working with them under those circumstances,” he said.
Adv Phomane said he recognised that financial contributions made to the broader venture had to be properly accounted for, which was why he had pursued mediation to find an amicable and lawful resolution.
However, the mediation failed and the outstanding issues were now subject to legal proceedings.
On the allegations of fraud and corruption reportedly lodged with the DCEO, Adv Phomane said neither he nor the company had received any communication from the directorate.
“Regarding the reported DCEO complaint, these claims have circulated for some time, but neither I nor the company has received any communication from the DCEO concerning them.
“I therefore cannot confirm whether a complaint has been lodged or whether an investigation exists. Should we be contacted, we will cooperate fully with any lawful process,” he said.
He cautioned against conflating commercial disagreements and disputes over financial contributions with allegations of criminal wrongdoing.
“I believe there is an important distinction between a commercial disagreement, the resolution of financial contributions and an allegation of criminal wrongdoing. These issues should not automatically be treated as one and the same,” he said.
Adv Phomane said his priority remained protecting the company’s lawful interests and ensuring that it continued serving customers and meeting its obligations.
“My responsibility as founder and Managing Director is to ensure that T-Connect continues to serve its customers, meet its obligations and build a sustainable business for the future,” he said.
Setipa demands source
Mr Setipa had promised to furnish this publication with documentation supporting his corruption claims. However, when contacted for comment this week, he backtracked on his promised and instead demanded that this publication disclose the identity of the source who provided information about the alleged sabotage, threatening legal action if the name was not revealed.
“I cannot talk about issues which are pending before court. If you go ahead and make those allegations against me without disclosing your source, I am going to sue you,” he said.
