- but Monokoane dismisses probe as a witch-hunt
- claims it is aimed at silencing him from criticising RFP leadership
Mohloai Mpesi
REVOLUTION for Prosperity (RFP) legislator and business tycoon, Mohopoli Monokoane, has accused the party’s leadership of “abusing” law enforcement agencies to target Members of Parliament unhappy with how the party is being run.
This as Mr Monokoane confirmed that he was being investigated by the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) for alleged fraud and theft of government fertilisers.
Mr Monokoane has described the investigation as a ploy by his detractors to constrict and cower him from voicing his discontent with several issues within the RFP and from criticising the party’s leadership. Mr Monokoane has been castigating his party over what he perceives as its failure to deliver on its electoral promises.
In an exclusive interview with the Lesotho Times this week, Mr Monokoane specifically lashed out at Minister of Local Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs and Police, Lebona Lephema, whom he said had “engineered” the DCEO investigation, after he called him out for “bullying” RFP MPs.
Both Messrs Monokoane and Lephema are the RFP’s Peka and Teyateyaneng constituencies legislators respectively.
Mr Monokoane also told this publication that following a letter that he wrote to party leader and Prime Minister Sam Matekane listing his grievances and a subsequent Whatsapp voice clip that had gone viral on social media, wherein he berated Mr Lephema for bullying RFP MPs and failing to ‘contain his thirst’ to succeed Mr Matekane, the duo (Matekane and Monokoane) had ultimately met to try and resolve their differences.
He said he had also met with Mr Lephema last week at a meeting mediated by Roman Catholic Church Archbishop Tlali Lerotholi. He said the church leader had chastised them for destroying the RFP with their constant bickering.
Efforts by the Lesotho Times to solicit a comment from Mr Lephema drew a blank as both his mobile numbers known to this publication went unanswered.
Mr Monokoane said that prior to that meeting with Archbishop Lerotholi, he had met with Mr Matekane and his political and economic advisors, to discuss his concerns.
He said it was in that meeting that he was asked if he had any pending cases against him at the DCEO and if he wanted them withdrawn.
If he wanted the cases withdrawn, it would only take a call to DCEO Director-General, Advocate Knorx Molelle, to disappear them.
But Mr Monokoane said he had declined the offer, asserting that if the DCEO had anything against him, the anti-graft body should just proceed to prosecute him. He also dismissed the offer as an attempt to buy his silence.
The Lesotho Times understands that Mr Monokoane, owner of the well-known Hippo Transport company, is being investigated by the DCEO over a fertiliser distribution deal he had with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, to collect fertilisers from a manufacturer in South Africa and distribute them to farmers on the ministry’s behalf.
Contacted for comment yesterday, DCEO spokesperson, ‘Matlhokomelo Senoko, told the Lesotho Times that the periods under investigation were the 2022 summer cropping season as well as the 2023 winter and summer farming seasons.
However, Ms Senoko would not divulge anything more, preferring to only confirm investigations were underway. She would not even confirm whether Mr Monokoane was indeed under probe.
An Impeccable DCEO source nonetheless told the Lesotho Times that the anti-graft body was conducting “intensive investigations” against Mr Monokoane. Its suspicions were that Mr Monokoane had helped himself to some of the fertilisers he had been hired to collect and distribute.
Witch-hunt
Mr Monokoane himself said he was aware that the DCEO was investigating him but dismissed the probe as a “witch-hunt engineered by Mr Lephema”.
He said Mr Lephema’s modus operandi was to threaten any RFP legislators who criticised the party’s leadership and who were not in support of his bid to succeed Mr Matekane as both party leader and Prime Minister.
Mr Monokoane claimed there was a general witch-hunt targeting RFP lawmakers who criticised the party’s leadership. He said seven DCEO officials, all former soldiers, had been assigned to keep an eye on maverick RFP MPs.
Before joining the DCEO, the seven soldiers had formed part of Mr Matekane’s security detail, ahead of the October 2022 elections. They are Messrs Peete Rasuta, Moeti Lekota, Nthakong Tseko, Fako Hatlane, Tṧoloane Mokone, Mokhali Mokhali and Ms ‘Manako ‘Mefane,
But because Mr Matekane’s security automatically became a responsibility of the State when he won elections, the seven were deployed to the DCEO as he no longer needed their services. Their appointment was formally gazetted.
According to Mr Monokoane, the seven were deployed to the DCEO to do the bidding for the RFP leadership.
Meeting
Mr Monokoane said he had met with Mr Matekane to discuss his concerns with the way the party was being run.
The meeting, Mr Monokoane said, came after his letter to Mr Matekane and an earlier voice clip he had made, had gone viral on social media. In the clip, he had warned Mr Matekane to watch out Mr Lephema, whom he accused of trying to destroy the RFP as he pursues his alleged ambition to succeed Mr Matekane.
“We discussed the issue with the Prime Minister after the clip I made went viral. In the clip, I warned him about Mr Lephema, who is destroying the party in pursuit of his ambitions. Our discussions also revolved around the Lesotho Postbank loans given to MPs, and the witch-hunt cases that are being brewed, especially against RFP legislators, to keep them quiet,” Mr Monokoane said.
“There are people employed at the DCEO to probe MPs, whether on old or new cases. These people were part of the Prime Minister’s security personnel before the 2022 elections, and they have been deployed to the DCEO to investigate RFP MPs.
He added: “If these MPs, who are being probed on fabricated cases become angry, this party will be destroyed. Things will be sour for RFP.”
Docket
Mr Monokoane said present in his meeting with Mr Matekane, were the premier’s economic and political advisors, Retšepile Elias and Jankie Setšabi.
Mr Matekane’s advisors, Mr Monokoane claimed, asked if there were any cases of corruption against him at the DCEO and if he wanted them withdrawn. It would only take a call to DCEO Director-General, Adv Molelle, to cancel the dockets.
He said he declined the offer.
Mr Monokoane said he had asserted firmly to Mr Matekane and his advisors that he was not afraid of the DCEO.
“They also said they were going to sue Post Bank CEO, Mr (Molefi) Leqhaoe on the findings of the 2020 PWC Forensic Audit Report,” Mr Monokoane said.
“They lamented that Mr Leqhaoe authorised financial assistance to people who were not qualified to purchase vehicles and rent them to the government. They said people who had bought those vehicles were his (Mr Leqhaoe’s) friends and relatives.
“So, they also sought to know from me whether I have cases like that against me in the DCEO, so that they could talk to Knorx Molelle to withdraw the dockets. I said if there is a case against me, let it proceed, I am not afraid.”
All this suggests the Prime Minister and his advisors wanted to buy his silence, Mr Manokoane suggested. He insisted RFP MPs were being threatened with DCEO probes to subdue them from airing their grievances. That was not appropriate nonetheless, he said.
Archbishop Lerotholi
Mr Monokoane also disclosed how he and Mr Lephema had, last week Thursday, met with Archbishop Lerotholi, who counselled them against their constant bickering as it would eventually destroy the RFP.
“The archbishop counselled us about the fights in the RFP. He said if we fight by threatening others with criminal probes, we will soon destroy the RFP, and that politics would become sour for all of us.
“He said that the RFP had been voted for by the people to govern, but that we were seemingly playing with the mandate we were given. If we unite and stop fighting amongst ourselves, we stand a good chance of changing this country.”
He said even though the meeting had gone well, it had not ended his grievances with Mr Lephema and the party.
