- begs govt to foot his legal bills
Mohalenyane Phakela
MURDER accused former army commander Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli has fallen on hard times and can no longer afford his legal costs, according to his lawyers.
So broke is Lt-Gen Kamoli that he has joined nine other detained soldiers in pleading with the state to pay their legal costs.
However, the latest claims by Kamoli and his co-accused are widely seen as a ruse in a string of claims to delay their trial for as long as possible in the hope that the Thomas Thabane coalition collapses and a new government sets them free.
Lt-Gen Kamoli retired from the army on 1 December 2016 under immense pressure from Lesotho’s regional and international development partners who demanded an end to the impunity and human rights abuses that occurred during his tenure at the helm of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF).
He was subsequently arrested in September 2017 on murder and attempted murder charges which include the June 2015 assassination of former army commander, Lieutenant General Maaparankoe Mahao.
At the time of his forced retirement, Lt-Gen Kamoli is said to have received a multi-million maloti golden handshake.
But he is now pleading poverty, apparently over his mounting legal woes.
The news of Lt-Gen Kamoli and his co-accused’s financial woes was revealed by one of their lawyers, Advocate Napo Mafaesa, when they appeared in the High Court over Lt-Gen Mahao’s murder.
“The accused have written to the registrar of this court (Pontšo Phafoli) asking to be assisted financially regarding their legal representation but we have not yet received a response from the registrar,” Adv Mafaesa told the presiding judge, Justice Charles Hungwe from Zimbabwe.
The judge said the request was unusual. To the best of his knowledge, the judge remarked, the state only paid legal fees for suspects who had state-appointed lawyers. But in this case, Kamoli wanted the state to pay for his private lawyers.
“When one cannot afford a lawyer, he or she informs the registrar who will then provide legal representation under pro deo representation. The registrar will then choose a lawyer who the state will pay on the accused’s behalf,” Justice Hungwe said.
The trial has now been re-scheduled to 26 and 27 August 2019.
The late Lt-Gen Mahao was appointed Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) commander on 29 August 2014 after the then and current Prime Minister Thomas Thabane fired Lt-Gen Kamoli for insubordination.
Lt-Gen Kamoli challenged the dismissal and staged a coup attempt in August 2014, kick-starting a chain of events that culminated in the snap elections of February 2015. These ushered in the seven-party coalition under Pakalitha Mosisili that replaced Dr Thabane’s government.
The Mosisili administration reinstated Lt-Gen Kamoli, arguing that his dismissal and Lt-Gen Mahao’s promotion were illegal. A notice in the Government Gazette also announced the termination of Lt-Gen Mahao’s appointment as LDF commander and demoted him to his former rank of brigadier.
Lt-Gen Mahao challenged his demotion in the High Court but the case fell away after he was fatally shot on his way to his farm in Mokema, outside Maseru. Kamoli and nine others have been charged with the murder.
Lt-Gen Kamoli and his eight co-accused are not alone in making the unusual demand that the state foots legal bills for their private lawyers.
Captain Mahlele Moeletsi, who is one of 10 soldiers accused of the 2017 murder of three civilians in Maseru, made the bizarre request when he appeared before Justice Hungwe with his co-accused on 14 June 2019.
“I have written to the registrar of this court asking that I be assisted in paying my lawyer but I am still happy with my legal representative and do not wish to change him. All I am asking is to have his legal charges handled by the state,” Captain Moeletsi told the court.
Adv Mafaesa told the Lesotho Times that he could not divulge whether or not the accused were in payment arrears for their legal fees, prompting their unusual requests, saying such detail was confidential between lawyer and client. However, he said the accused were facing serious charges and their protracted legal battles attracted huge costs.
“Even the government has sought financial support from development partners and for the payment of foreign judges. The trials are going to run for long and these people need help…,” Adv Mafaesa said.
This is not the first time Lt-Gen Kamoli has asked for the state to pay his legal bills. In September last year, he wrote to the Attorney General’s office demanding M5 million for his legal costs but was rebuffed.
Ms Phafoli referred the Lesotho Times to the judiciary’s public relations officer, ‘Mabohlokoa Mapikitla, but the latter said she was on leave.
