MASERU — Lesotho will next month be among nine African countries that will take part in the World Netball Championships qualifiers to be held in Gauteng, South Africa. The qualifiers will be to determine which two countries will join Malawi to represent the continent at the world championships to be held in Singapore next July. […]
By Lerato Matheka MASERU—”I am overwhelmed.” That’s how Bhudaza Mapefane described the rousing reception he got from the nearly 300 people who attended his Likhomo CD launch show at Cabanas on Saturday night. “The crowd showed love and appreciation for my performance,” he said after the show. The crowd seemed overwhelmed as well. The absence […]
By Lerato Matheka MASERU — It was intended to be a red-carpet fashion show. But the show turned out to be the mother-of-all-flops. The show, organised by an aspiring local modelling agency, Glamour-Les, was held at Alliance Franaise last Saturday. One of the organisers of the event, Pokane Tsietsi, told the Weekender that the show […]
By Khahliso Khama MASERU — The Maseru Central Park was a hive of activity last weekend as Basotho youths celebrated the start of the ploughing and planting season known as Selemo sa Basotho. Selemo sa Basotho is marked on the first of August every year when the Basotho traditional year begins. The day marks the […]
MASERU — Lesotho Workers Party (LWP) leader Macaefa Billy says the split between his party and the All Basotho Convention (ABC) was instigated by people who felt he was becoming a threat to party leader Thomas Thabane. Billy said there was a clique within the alliance that felt he was preparing to take over the […]
MASERU — Lesotho Workers Party (LWP) deputy leader, Sello Maphalla, has lashed out at the All Basotho Convention (ABC) for causing last week’s split in the alliance. In an interview with the Lesotho Times on Tuesday, Maphalla also condemned the alleged assault of several party youths at an ABC rally in Mazenod on Sunday. The […]
MASERU — The High Court has ordered Health Minister Mphu Ramatlapeng to recognise and confirm the new traditional healers’ council which was elected in January. The Lesotho Universal Medicinemen and Herbalist Council dragged the minister to court in March after she allegedly refused to recognise the newly elected council. The minister argued that there were […]
MASERU — The seven-day South African civil servants strike which begins today is not expected to disrupt operations at the Lesotho-South Africa border, a senior immigration official has said. South African civil servants across the country are expected to down tools beginning today to press for better salaries and improved working conditions. There were fears […]
MASERU – The alliance between the All Basotho Convention (ABC) and the Lesotho Workers Party (LWP) came to an abrupt end last week. As part of the “divorce settlement” the ABC also demanded that all members of its executive committee, including those from the LWP, should be card-holding members of the party. There will be […]
MASERU — The dramatic split of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party and the Lesotho Workers Party (LWP) alliance could leave the opposition severely weakened and seriously derail the fight for democracy in the country, analysts have said. The split could deliver a telling blow to opposition forces that have struggled to make an impact […]
MASERU — The trial of former Public Eye newspaper columnist Tukula Makhake who is facing charges of armed robbery took a dramatic twist on Tuesday after he claimed he was tortured to force him to confess. Magistrate Molemo Monethi on Tuesday granted an application by the defence for a trial-within-a-trial to establish whether Makhakhe’s confession […]
MASERU — Workers at the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) are up in arms over a human resources executive they accuse of getting a full bonus that “she didn’t deserve” last December. The workers say the head of human resources and administration Lucy Mataboe should not have been given the full eight percent bonus because […]
LITHOTENG — Villagers in Lithoteng will on Sunday hold a joint prayer session to seek divine intervention over a spate of crimes they say have hit their village hard over the past six months. In the past six months, several girls and women have been raped in the area. In others cases, people have been […]
So, that sham of a marriage between the All Basotho Convention (ABC) and the Lesotho Workers Party (LWP) is finally over. ABC, which seems to have been the husband, filed divorce papers on LWP (the obvious wife) last week. Insiders tell me the couple had been sleeping in separate beds many moons before the divorce. […]
MASERU — Lesotho’s economy is set to grow by three percent this year on the back of massive construction and mining projects that are currently underway, Nedbank Lesotho managing director Lazarus Murahwa has said. Murahwa told a business meeting in Maseru last Friday that large construction projects will likely drive economic growth by three percent, […]
MASERU — Lesotho’s annual inflation rate shot to 4.5 percent in June, up from the previous month’s rate of 3.8 percent, according to the latest figures released by the Bureau of Statistics last week. Major monthly increases were recorded in the cost of fuels, rent, vegetables and footwear, according to the bureau. The price for […]
MASERU — At least 30 percent of the funds allocated for the maintenance of Lesotho’s roads was not utilised in the last financial year, the Lesotho Times has learnt. Road Fund executive secretary, Refiloe Pule, said they only used 70 percent of the M121 million that had been allocated to maintain and rehabilitate roads last […]
MASERU — In a shock move, Lioli coach Mosholi “Shoes” Mokhothu has dumped the Teyateyaneng giants for an inferior post with his former employers LCS. Mokhuthu, 37, has joined Masheshena as assistant to head coach Mafa “Ribbo” Ramakau. It is an unexpected move for the man who led Lioli to their first Premier League title […]
MASERU — Lioli star Sello ‘Muso is facing disciplinary action after going AWOL for nearly a month. ‘Muso only reported for training on Tuesday even though Tse Nala began their pre-season programme at the start of July. Last week it emerged Lioli were contemplating omitting the 22-year-old striker, popularly known as Scalo, from their final […]
MASERU — In 1996, boasting players such as the peerless late striker Ramaumane “Roma” Mahula, Lerotholi Polytechnic took silver in the Independence Cup, then Lesotho’s biggest cup, to seal their status as one of the country’s finest football clubs. The team affectionately known as Lihale were then renowned for their free-flowing, liberated style of football […]
MASERU — Lesotho volleyball champions Redskins have put themselves on the map by winning their first international tournament since their formation nearly two decades ago. The team dominated the Free State Open Tournament held in Bloemfontein on Saturday to win both the men’s and women’s categories. The Redskins women’s team defeated Fudu, a Bloemfontein-based club, […]
MASERU — Berea women’s football is courting visiting Americans to sponsor the game in the district, the Lesotho Times has learnt. The seven Americans – led by Jennifer Pride – are evaluating how the Berea Women’s League Committee is running the game. They have already visited three zones in the district and will be expected […]
By Lerato Matheka MASERU — ‘Nesoang Mpota has bagged an incredible hat-trick of crowns after she was named Miss Vodacom PC FM 2010 on Saturday night at ‘Manthabiseng Convention Centre. The 20-year-old Bachelor of Commerce student is also this year’s Miss NUL and Miss Intervarsity. In winning Lesotho’s biggest pageant on Saturday, Nesoang scooped […]
By Lerato Matheka MASERU — Respected South African musician Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse will be a guest performer when local Afro-jazz star Bhudaza Mapefane launches his award-winning album at Maseru Sun on Saturday. Bhudaza will be officially unveiling his third release, Likhomo, which won the best adult contemporary album (African) gong at the South African […]
Khahliso Khama MASERU — Sixteen beauties are expected to strut their stuff in the second annual Miss Mazenod pageant on Saturday. The contestants are drawn from villages round Mazenod, 15km south of Maseru. Palesa Mokoloko, the organiser of Saturday’s event at Mazenod High School, said the pageant is open to young women aged between […]
MASERU — The dispute over the minimum wage for textile industry workers has taken a nasty turn. Veteran trade unionist Macaefa Billy has been accused of threatening to kill a senior trade union rival and harm another he accuses of siding with employers. But Billy quickly dismissed the allegations, saying he only warned his rivals […]
MASERU — A trust purportedly representing MKM depositors and creditors has raised eyebrows after it emerged one of the key people behind the trust was the Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL)’s legal adviser when it shut down the company in 2007. Thandiwe Metsing, who heads the recently established investors trust, was a CBL legal adviser […]
MASERU — Deputy Prime Minister Lesao Lehohla has ruled out recalling parliament to deal with the border crisis saying Lesotho should wait for President Jacob Zuma to handle the matter when he visits the country next month. Lehohla was responding to an appeal by the Lesotho Opposition Parties Forum, an umbrella body for opposition parties, […]
MOKHOTLONG — A 28-year-old man from Letšeng in Mokhotlong was sentenced to six years in prison for illegal possession of diamonds on July 11. Police spokesperson Masupha Masupha said Letšeng police were tipped off by Mofolong villagers that Nyali Ramoloko was in possession of three diamonds. “The suspect told the Mokhotlong magistrate that he bought […]
Lesotho opposition in turmoil
THE dramatic collapse of the alliance between the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party and the Lesotho Workers Party (LWP) is the most vivid illustration that the opposition in Lesotho is in turmoil. The alliance which was formed ahead of the 2007 general elections had promised so much and yet delivered so little for opposition supporters. […]