Limpho Sello
THE battle for the control of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) recently assumed a religious dimension with the party’s Maputsoe Urban Council community councilor, Hlalefang Makesi, asking for divine intervention to “free” the party leader Thomas Thabane from what he called the “spells and traps of satanists” that have so far prevented him from accepting the new ABC’s national executive committee (NEC).
Mr Makesi, who doubles up as a pastor, called for divine intervention to resolve the raging power struggle within the ABC power while delivering the opening prayer at a weekend rally in the Mosalemane constituency in the Berea district.
The rally was organised by the members of the ABC’s new NEC who include the Mosalemane constituency legislator, Samuel Rapapa, and the National University of Lesotho vice chancellor, Professor Nqosa Mahao, who was elected to the post of deputy leader at the party’s 1-2 February 2019 elective conference in Maseru.
Despite their election, the new NEC has not been able to assume office due to fierce resistance by the old NEC which appears to enjoy the support of Dr Thabane. Although he initially accepted Prof Mahao’s victory as the “democratic expression of the will of the majority of ABC voters”, Dr Thabane appears to have changed tune as evidenced by his recent attendance of successive rallies organised by the old NEC last week in Likhoele, Mafeteng and this week in Hololo, Butha-Buthe.
Dr Thabane has even used the rally platforms to criticise the Mahao faction for holding their own rallies and presenting themselves as the ABC leaders.
The premier’s apparent support for the old NEC has not gone down well with the rival faction and as shown on Sunday in the Mosalemane constituency, some like the pastor-cum-ABC politician Mr Makesi believe that Dr Thabane is in throes of entrapment by the old NEC who are using the dark arts to blindfold him from accepting the will of the people, represented by the new NEC.
In his opening prayer at the Mosalemane rally, Mr Makesi said, “the ABC followers have expressed their confidence in the newly-elected national executive committee, therefore, God abundantly bless the NEC that was voted in by the majority so that it can fully exercise its duties”.
“Bless all the ABC followers who have attended this rally and the new NEC and the members of parliament who are here against all odds.
“Free Ntate Thabane from all the evil deeds fashioned against him. If (Dr Thabane) has been blindfolded or trapped with traditional medicines, I free him in the name of Jesus. If he has been trapped by Satanists, I free him in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Free Ntate Thabane my dear God so that Lesotho will also be free.”
The Lesotho Times crew later caught up with Mr Makesi who said that his prayer was based on his belief that the will of the majority of ABC members as expressed through their vote for Prof Mahao and others, was a reflection of the will of God and as such it should be respected by Dr Thabane.
He warned that by resisting the new NEC, Dr Thabane had put himself in a position where he was fighting against God. God would thus not come to his rescue when the people eventually turned against him.
“If you are a leader and you are fighting God, by the time people fight you God will never defend you. Jeremiah chapter three, verse three says, ‘Therefore the showers have been withheld and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame’.
“In other words, if you call on God, you are calling the One who covers the heaven and earth but the issue still remains that when you fight a large group of people who have made a decision, you are fighting God because where there is a large group of people there is the voice of God.
“Even Basotho will tell you that ‘Sechaba ke Poho’ meaning the power lies in the voice of the people but still you choose to fight the same people. So, it’s supposed to be the normal practice that if the majority points the way by voting for the person they want even if we wanted our own candidates, we need to abide by those rules and allow those people (new NEC) to serve. Failure to do that means that we are not abiding by the word of God,” Mr Makesi said, adding that Dr Thabane should realise that he is being misinformed and misdirected by the people who have surrounded him.
“My assessment of the current power battle in the ABC is that Ntate Thabane is only looking at the people who have surrounded him ignoring the value of other people and the public’s voice. We have learned that these people (old NEC) misused ABC funds and they will not hand over power to the new NEC because they don’t want the new committee to see what they have done.
“The ABC followers, community councilors, members of parliament, diplomats and ministers pay their subscriptions fees which add up to a lot of money which they (old NEC) misused. For example, community councilors pay a subscription fee of M100 per month, MPs pay M600 every six months, ministers pay M2000 and diplomats M5000.
“If you add up the subscriptions paid by the ministers that can tell you how much money is being made but the report they gave us during last year’s conference in Quthing indicated that the party had only M7000 left and one wonders where the rest of the money went.”
Mr Makesi also dismissed the allegations of vote-rigging that have been levelled at the new NEC, saying there was no way this could have happened as the elective conference was organised by the likes of the outgoing secretary general and chairperson respectively, Messrs Samonyane Ntsekele and Motlohi Maliehe. Mr Ntsekele lost the secretary general’s contest to Dr Thabane’s son-in-law, Lebohang Hlaele and Mr Maliehe lost the deputy leader’s post to Prof Mahao.
But according to Mr Makesi, the old NEC are digging in and blatantly lying to Dr Thabane that if he accepts the new NEC, it will turn against him and dislodge him from power.
“They (old NEC) have sold lies to the leader of ABC that if he inaugurates the new committee, it will fire him as the leader of ABC. These are just lies they are telling just because they want to use the leader and make him their puppet to achieve their own ends, Mr Makesi said.
