Tefo Tefo
FORMER Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili’s son, Rethabile, lost a court battle in which he wanted the High Court to nullify cancellation of his deployment to the Lesotho Highlands Water Commission (LHWC) as the chief delegate.
Mr Mosisili was appointed chief delegate to the Water Commission on 1 April this year on secondment by the previous government in the Ministry of Water Affairs where he was the deputy Principal Secretary.
The 3 June 2017 elections brought Thomas Thabane’s All Basotho Convention and three other parties to power after they won 63 seats, enough to form government.
The new government reviewed Mr Mosisili’s controversial secondment and subsequently reversed it in a letter they wrote to him on 24 July this year.
Dissatisfied over the current government’s decision, he lodged an urgent application before the High Court seeking to nullify cancellation of his appointment to the Water Commission.
However, the High Court judge Justice Tšeliso Monaphathi yesterday dismissed his application and ordered him to pay costs of suit.
The judge gave a brief judgment, promising to release a fully reasoned judgment in due course.
Mr Mosisili’s loss means he is now officially out of the commission where he only served for almost three months.
He had occupied the position of Lesotho’s chief delegate into the Lesotho Highlands Water Commission under unclear conditions of his secondment to the commission about two months before the national assembly election.
At the time he was the chief delegate on secondment, he still held a substantive position of the Deputy Principal Secretary in the ministry of Water Affairs.
The present government on 24 July wrote the letter to Mr Mosisili recalling him from the water commission.
Part of the letter reads: “Please be informed that despite several attempts to get your secondment approved, the Public service Commission (PSC) has still not approved it.
“The government has therefore found it fitting to recall you back from Lesotho Highlands Water Commission; and you are to revert to your substantive position of the Deputy Principal Secretary, in the Ministry of Water, with effect from 24 July 2017.”
Following this communication, Mr Mosisili filed an urgent application before the High Court seeking an order setting aside the government’s decision to recall him from the top position in the highlands water commission.
In his court papers Mr Mosisili seeks for an order “reviewing and setting aside the letter of recall issued by the 1st respondent on the 24 July, 2017 as null and void and of no force and effect in law.”
He cited the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Water, Lesotho Highlands Water Commission, Public Service Commission and the Attorney General as first to fourth respondents respectively.
In his affidavit Mr Mosisili said he approached the court of law after writing to the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Water Affairs challenging his recall, but had never received any reply from him.
He said his application called for an urgent attention by the High Court.
“The current situation is that I am expected to oblige and return to the Ministry of Water as Deputy Principal Secretary something that should be interdicted as failure to do so will be as good as effecting the recall in circumstances which are not legally justified.
“I have been informed and verily believe that the diary of this Honourable Court is congested with other matters already being set down for the latter part of 2018.
“Under those circumstances I stand to suffer prejudice should the normal periods and modes as set down in the rules be followed, because by the time this matter is heard my contract as Chief Delegate will be as good as terminated and probably replaced by someone,” he said.
He argued the court to review the government’s decision to recall him citing he was not afforded a hearing before the decision was reached.
“I need not over-emphasise the need to have been afforded a prior hearing before the decision to ‘recall’ me was made. I can only surmise that this is a political decision triggered by change of government,” he said.
Arguing on the sudden recall from the water commission he said: “To expect me to pack and leave on the date of the letter is rather irrational as that is physically impossible and impacts on my reputation. It is trite that in any workplace, things like handing over and submission of final reports should be systematically undertaken to ensure smooth progress of the work.
Giving the background to his court challenge he stated: “At all material times since March 2017, I concluded a contract of employment and took up employment with the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho to be its Chief Delegate at the Lesotho Highlands Water Commission until my recall.”
He said: “Without any prior notice, on or about the 24 July 2017, I received a letter informing me of my recall to the Ministry of Water effective same day,” adding “upon receipt thereof and on the 25 July, I caused a letter in response thereto but to date I have not received any response.
“It will become apparent that I am lamenting the fact that I was not given prior hearing before the decision to recall me was made.”
However, the court dismissed his application.
