MASERU — Villagers in Makhoakhoeng in Butha-Buthe, about 60km north of the capital Maseru, are worried. Since June at least three young men have been allegedly kidnapped and forcibly taken to an initiation school. Kidnapping young boys and sending them to initiation schools has become common in the area, the villagers said. Some parents […]
MASERU — The suspended deputy police commissioner, Motsotuoa Ntaote, has filed a court application to compel commissioner ‘Malejaka Letooane to re-instate him after he was cleared of fraud by the High Court. Ntaote was facing fraud charges in the High Court for allegedly causing the treasury department to pay him and other police officers the […]
MASERU — A taxi driver died while 28 people were badly injured after two mini-buses collided head-on in Nazareth last Saturday. The deceased was identified as 33-year-old Eketsang Babeli of Ha Thetsane in Maseru. The 28 injured passengers were admitted at St Joseph’s Hospital in Roma and Queen Elizabeth II Hospital. Police spokesperson, Pheello Mphana, […]
MASERU — The Lesotho High Court on Tuesday blocked efforts by Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) Commander Thuso Motanyane to evict two soldiers accused of high treason from the army residence. Motanyane had in June last year ordered Captain Ramabele Mokhantsó and Captain Lehloa Ramotsó to vacate the LDF houses at Ratjomose barracks claiming that their […]
MASERU — Bantu maintained a healthy lead in the latest voting for the 2009 Vodacom Soccer Spectacular tournament this week. The Mafeteng outfit have increased their lead and now boast a whopping 22 789 votes. They are followed by Maseru Naughty Boys with 5 130 votes, Lioli are trailing behind with 4 854 votes while […]
MASERU — Police Commissioner Malejaka Letooane this week continued her battle to reverse a jail sentence slapped on her for contempt of court three weeks ago. Letooane was on August 18 sentenced to six months in prison after she ignored summonses to appear in court to give evidence in a car theft case. The police […]
MASERU — Textile factory workers have requested parliament to urgently intervene and help improve their miserable working conditions and meagre wages. Workers from five textile firms wrote to parliament’s portfolio committee responsible for labour issues on Tuesday requesting an urgent intervention. The workers, represented by the Factory Workers Union (FAWU) handed their letter of complaint […]
MASERU — A 27-year-old man, Matsoso Lieta, begged for mercy in court last Thursday saying he raped an 80-year-old woman after he had been overcome by “evil thoughts”. “I do not know what to say I was just overcome by evil thoughts,” Lieta told the court. Maseru magistrate, ‘Makampong Mokhoro, rejected his plea for mercy […]
MASERU –– The police on Sunday stormed the home of an opposition legislator Molobeli Soulo allegedly looking for arms, the Lesotho Times has learnt. Soulo is a Member of Parliament (MP) and national executive chairman of the main opposition All Basotho Convention (ABC) party. The MP was however not at home during the raid. He […]
MASERU –– When ‘Makamohelo Tsietsi bid farewell to her son last Tuesday morning she did not know that by evening he would be lying unconscious on a campus clinic bed. And when she left the clinic on Tuesday night she did not even dream that the next time she would see him he would be […]
MOHALE’S HOEK — All Basotho Convention (ABC) leader, Thomas Thabane, last Sunday appealed to church leaders mediating in the proportional representation seats issue to be neutral. “I urge church leaders facilitating dialogue on the proportional representation issue to be neutral and refrain from discriminating against political parties,” Thabane told party supporters. Retired Anglican bishop, Phillip […]
MASERU — A 70-year-old British national, James Charles Thompson, was found dead in his house in Maseru West last Wednesday. A neighbour who spoke to the Lesotho Times said Thompson had been unwell for some time. “I found him vomiting in his house. He said he was unwell but did not disclose the nature of […]
MASERU — The bodies of two Mozambicans who died during a botched attack at Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili’s residence in Maseru last April were repatriated home last month. Police spokesman Inspector Pheello Mphana said the bodies of Antonio Pedro Nhacatendu, 34, and Joao Manono Sigauque, 39, were handed over to their relatives on August 31. […]
MASERU –– A strike called by workers at Lets’eng Diamond Mine collapsed on Monday after heavily armed soldiers stormed the mine. The workers are employed by Matekane Mining Investment Company (MMIC) which provides earthmoving machines and manpower to Lets’eng Diamond Mine. The workers called the strike last week to protest against management’s refusal to endorse […]
MASERU –– The editor-in-chief of the Monitor newspaper, Dr Rakoro Phororo, has died. Phororo died last Thursday during a private visit to London, England. He was 75. “He and his wife, ’Malisemelo Phororo were visiting their children in London. The cause of death is not yet known,” said a family spokesman Mpeake Phororo. He said […]
MASERU –– Libe Moremoholo was last Saturday overwhelmingly elected youth president of the main opposition All Basotho Convention (ABC) party. Moremoholo, 33, beat ABC youth league interim president Pitso Maisa to claim the top post. Moremoholo, a Member of Parliament for Likhetlane constituency, was elected at an elective conference held at Lakeside Hotel in Maseru. […]
MASERU –– The case in which Police Commissioner ‘Malejaka Letooane is asking the court to set aside or review her conviction on a charge of contempt of court has been set for Monday. Letooane was convicted of contempt of court two weeks ago and was sentenced to six months in prison. The police boss failed […]
MASERU –– A 29-year-old police officer, Trooper Sehloho Raphael Lepelesana, died last Saturday after he allegedly drank poison. Police spokesman Senior Superintendent Mpota Nthako confirmed the incident saying the police officer was allegedly “deep in debt”. According to the police, Lepelesana had an argument with friends during a beer drink at Ha-Mabote. He later went […]
MASERU –– ‘Maseteta Mabeta stands next to a heap of maize, all that she harvested this year. Mabeta is from Motloheloa, a farming village in Maseru district about 20 kilometres south of the capital. Maseru is Lesotho’s second biggest maize-producing district, after Thaba-Tseka. But for Mabeta, this year’s maize harvest is the worst in living […]
WELKOM — At least 137 Basotho are still locked up in South African jails after they were arrested for illegal mining activities, the Lesotho Times learnt this week. Lesotho’s consul in Welkom, Sethunya Koqo, said the foreign affairs ministry had compiled a report on illegal Basotho miners held in South African prisons. Koqo said they […]
MASERU –– Pitso Maisa, the interim youth president of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party, will have to battle it out with Libe Moremoholo at the youth league’s conference on Saturday if he wants to be elected the substantive president. It’s a battle of two people who all claim they are qualified to lead the […]
MASERU – The deputy attorney general Tsebang Putsoane has been roped into the ongoing fight between civil servants and money lenders over loan payments. More than 100 civil servants had demanded that the treasury department stops deducting money from their salaries to pay their debts to three prominent money lending institutions pending finalisation of their […]
MASERU –Prominent lawyer Haae Phoofolo wants Police Commissioner Malejaka Letooane behind bars. Letooane was convicted of contempt of court last week and sentenced to six months in prison but she was not jailed because she sought and got a stay of execution in the High Court last Friday. Justice Semapo Peete gave the interim order […]
MASERU –– A strike called by National University of Lesotho (NUL) students ended yesterday after the National Manpower Developmental Secretariat (NMDS) paid their loans. The students boycotted classes on Tuesday vowing not to return to classes until they were paid. The students demonstrated at the Roma campus on Tuesday singing songs and blocking cars seeking […]
MASERU –– The Labour Appeal Court (LAC) has fined Lerotholi Polytechnic College and its director M80 000 for contempt of court after they failed to comply with an order to reinstate a lecturer who had been unprocedurally dismissed. The college had fired Blandina Lisene for allegedly using her relative to mark final examination papers for […]
MASERU — Employees of Matekane Mining Investment Company (MMIC) a company sub-contracted by Lets’eng Diamond at its mine in Mokhotlong are planning to down tools on Monday. If the workers carry out their threat, work at the mine will come to a halt. The workers are bitter that the MMIC has refused to recognise their […]
MASERU –– The small stream that has provided water to the people of Tsénola’s village for a long time has run dry. For years this stream that runs through the village has provided some people with drinking water. They have washed and bathed in this stream. The parchedness of the stream could spell disaster for […]
MASERU — High Court judge Thamsanqa Nomncongo this week lashed out at crown and defence lawyers for delaying proceedings in the trial of eight police officers who are charged with murder. The police officers are accused of killing the principal chief of Phamong Bereng Letsie Bereng seven years ago. The case was first heard in […]
MASERU — The Law Society of Lesotho has banned 65 lawyers from practising for failing to pay their annual subscription fees to the organisation. The laws governing the legal profession stipulate that the lawyers should pay their fees in order to get practising certificates. The practising certificates allow the practitioners to appear in court representing […]
MASERU — The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) last night tried to distance itself from the mess surrounding the allocation of proportional representation seats, sources who attended the closed talks told the Lesotho Times. The IEC has been accused of wrongly allocating PR seats, causing serious friction between the government and the opposition. But last night […]
