—accused of making racial slurs against Indian, Chinese and Pakistanis
Staff Reporter
MEMBERS of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have been accused of xenophobia after they stormed the premises of a prominent businessman of Pakistani descent and harassed his workers and tenants.
The PAC members made the xenophobic attacks on 31 October 2024 against businessman, Saaqib Abdulla, while inspecting properties belonging to the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC).
Mr Abdulla alleges that he and his tenants were subjected to intimidation and racial slurs by the PAC members.
His lawyer, Attorney Monaheng Rasekoai, has thus written to parliament demanding that they be disciplined.
Mr Rasekoai said the PAC had overstepped its legal boundaries when it conducted an unannounced inspection of Mr Abdulla’s commercial property in Maseru’s industrial area.
The PAC had accused the LNDC of failing to manage state properties under its care and had therefore decided to inspect some of these assets. It therefore resolved to inspect the said property around the Maseru industrial area. Mr Abdulla contends that the property belongs to him and not the LNDC. The legal dispute over ownership of the property is still pending in court. The PAC had therefore no right to even try and inspect it without notice.
Even assuming the property belongs to the state and is being loaned to Mr Abdulla, the PAC members should not have behaved the way they did.
In his letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Tlohang Sekhamane, dated 1 November 2024, Mr Rasekoai said that members of the PAC, accompanied by officials from the Land Administration Authority (LAA) and the LNDC, acted unlawfully by failing to notify Mr Abdulla, the property’s sub-lessor, in advance of the visit. He also criticised the legislators for displaying “demeanour and comportment” unbecoming of public officials.
“The actions of the Public Accounts Committee on the given date were both wrongful and unlawful. They cannot embark in any purported site visit of the so-called government property without prior notice to the sub-lessors and by extension sub-lessees in any sub-let property in this jurisdiction,” Mr Rasekoai said.
“We challenge the chairperson of the PAC (‘Machabana Lemphane-Letsie) to present and or motivate the basis upon which sub-lessees/tenants were directed to produce the commercial contracts between themselves and the sub-lessor. This was grossly unlawful and or illegal and we take strong exception to this.
“The reality is that client was harassed and humiliated together with his tenants at the designated plot. We reserve client’s right to stage damages claim against the participants in this ordeal either singly or collectively.”
He argued that the PAC had no legal basis for its site inspection and that it lacked the authority to investigate or inspect private property, especially when a legal dispute involving the property is already underway in court.
Mr Rasekoai also complained of the racial comments allegedly directed at Mr Abdulla’s tenants and employees, many of whom are of Chinese, Indian, and Pakistani descent.
Mr Rasekoai said Mr Abdulla’s father had established the business decades ago and had integrated into the Lesotho community, employing over 200 indigenous Basotho workers. He lamented that, despite this commitment, his client’s business was subjected to xenophobic rhetoric and unlawful scrutiny.
He claimed that such behaviour undermined the principles of inclusivity and respect enshrined in the Constitution, which guarantees equal protection under the law to all individuals, regardless of nationality or ethnic background.
He accused the PAC members of making xenophobic statements to the effect that businesses run by Indian, Chinese and Pakistani nationals were unethical and engaged in well-coordinated measures to prejudice indigenous Basotho.
“This racially charged political bigotry is both regrettable and unfortunate….,” Mr Rasekoai said.
“The members of the PAC must display the demeanour and comportment required of public officials of their stature and not blurt out racial slurs against the Chinese, Indian or Pakistani descendants trading in Lesotho.
“We firmly assert and affirm that Chinese, Indian and Pakistani traders or any immigrant in this country enjoy the same protection from the Constitution as any indigenous Mosotho including the author hereof. Even worse, the members of parliament in any capacity are equally the subjects of the rule of law and this much must be emphasised.”
He thus called the Speaker to ensure that parliament’s disciplinary committee took action against the MPs.
