Billy Ntaote
ALL Basotho Convention (ABC) Member of Parliament for Qoaling #34 constituency, Chalane Phori, says he fled the country on Monday after receiving a tip-off from a “trusted source” in the law enforcement agencies about a plot to assassinate him.
Mr Phori told the Lesotho Times from his hideout that the sources had also tipped him off about an imminent attack on his home last year from which he “narrowly escaped” after unidentified gunmen allegedly stormed his residence.
“I was first told (about the plot) by a colleague who had been tipped off that some gunmen were waiting to shoot me. I didn’t take it seriously at first until this week when I received a similar message from a senior law enforcement official and a source within the government,” he said.
“I was told to either flee the country or buy myself a bullet-proof vest. That is when I realised that my safety was in jeopardy and decided to skip the country.”
Asked whether he had reported the alleged plot to the police, Mr Phori said it was a “pointless endeavour”.
“I have no intention of doing so, since it would be a pointless endeavour,” he said.
“I am very suspicious about the affiliations of some police officers and only trust a few of them. I also doubt their capacity to solve the matter.”
Mr Phori was among four ABC MPs who were suspended for a week by National Assembly Speaker Ntlhoi Motsamai on Tuesday last week after they disrupted proceedings in the august house.
Ms Motsamai initially reprimanded the legislators for heckling Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili as he tabled the SADC Commission of Inquiry report the day before, but the MPs questioned her ruling, leading to their suspension.
