MASERU — The Free State Orchestra of Chinese Music on Saturday serenaded a near-capacity crowd at ‘Manthabiseng Convention Centre with sweet oriental music. The concert was organised by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Lesotho. Diplomats and businessmen were among the audience, which also included Chinese Ambassador to Lesotho Gao Deyi as […]
MASERU — The rift that rocked Buddie Premier League club Matlama in the just-ended season deepened this week following the expulsion of three executive committee members. The once-mighty club announced through a press release that team manager Limpho Tsephe, public relations officer Tsiu Monne and committee member Teboho Tsephe had been relieved of their duties. […]
MASERU — After 12 forgettable months, Likuena have finally managed to put a small smile on the nation’s faces – albeit after securing away draws against Swaziland. Not only did Likuena score their first goal after going for 450 minutes without finding the net, they scored two in as many games. Lesotho’s national team arrived […]
MASERU — Goal scoring has been Zavisa Milosavljevic’s biggest headache since he took charge of Likuena in April last year. Lesotho have found scoring harder than living on Mars, finding the net just seven times in 14 games. However the Serbian coach may have found the answer to his prayers in the form of Likhopo […]
MASERU — Manonyane football club has taken another step towards its rebirth. The Roma-based club held elections last Sunday to choose a substantive board. Manonyane became defunct in 1999 mainly due to conflict with the Lesotho Football Association. However, a management committee has been put in office to spearhead the revival of the team. Newly […]
MASERU — The COSAFA Senior Challenge Cup has been postponed again. The regional meet is the only competitive international tournament Lesotho were looking forward to after failing for the umpteenth time to qualify for the African Nations Cup, let alone the World Cup. The COSAFA Senior Challenge Cup was originally pencilled in for May before […]
MASERU — Lesotho’s national Under-19 cricket team leaves the country today for the Easterns Cricket Festival in Benoni, South Africa. The annual tournament, which starts tomorrow and will run until next Wednesday, draws sides from regional countries. Even though the event is nothing more than carnival, its importance to Lesotho cannot be understated — a […]
WELKOM — An illegal miner who has been underground at Eland Shaft in Welkom since January has dictated a letter asking Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili (pictured) to intervene and secure his freedom. The open letter was dictated to a Lesotho Times reporter this week. In it, Nthona Sekese appealed to the government of Lesotho for […]
MASERU — The number of Basotho men who perished in the Welkom illegal mining disaster has soared to 46 following the discovery and identification of more bodies this week. The Lesotho consular based in Welkom, Sethunya Koqo, said the number had increased because some families from Lesotho have been able to identify eight more bodies […]
MASERU — The Lesotho Public Service Staff Association (LEPSSA) which represents government workers is in turmoil after members resolved to dissolve the association’s executive committee last month. The members are accusing the executive committee of misusing and embezzling funds. They also accused the executive committee of misusing property. On May 10 the LEPSSA members appointed […]
MASERU — Orphans and primary school children that get food assistance from government are likely to starve because truck owners hired to transport the food have pulled out due to perennial delays in payment. The truckers were contracted by the Food Management Unit (FMU), a government department co-ordinating food distribution by relief agencies, to transport […]
MASERU — Two men from Butha-Buthe were sentenced to 25 years each by the High Court for murder and assault. Teboho Mlangeni, 24, and Mpokatsi Lehloesa, 29, were charged with murder and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. They were convicted on both counts. They were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment each for […]
MASERU — Lesotho students studying in South Africa have been warned to be on the lookout for fraudulent healthcare consultants who are masquerading as brokers for Ingwe Health Plan. Ingwe Health Plan is a South African medical scheme that specialises with foreign students studying in South Africa. According to the public relations company for Ingwe, […]
MASERU — When 50-year-old Ntsékhe Thakaso lost his job at Impala Platinum Mine in Rustenburg in 2006 he was devastated. Thakaso was deemed excess to requirements at Impala after he suffered severe back injuries. After 27 years of back-breaking work at Impala Thakaso found himself stuck at his rural home in Roma about 35km south […]
MASERU – Popular broadcaster Motlatsi Ncholu will answer sexual offence charges again in the next two months after the High Court ordered a restart of the initial trial that landed him in prison. Ncholu was in March last year convicted by the Quthing Magistrates’ Court of molesting a 15 year-old-girl in July 2007.He was sentenced […]
BUTHA-BUTHE — The president of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) youth league has distanced the youth wing from a petition sent to the prime minister calling for a cabinet reshuffle. Mosala Mojakisane, told an LCD rally in Butha-Buthe last Sunday that the youth wing was not behind the petition that was sent to Prime […]
MASERU – Two men who are facing murder charges told the High Court on Tuesday that they confessed to the murder after they were assaulted by the police. Simon Phamotse Mosala and Maloro Mokhethi are alleged to have killed Phakiso Mpota on 25 October 2007 at Ha Sethuamajoe, Semonkong in Maseru district. Mpota had accused […]
AS I SEE IT FROM history archives we read that from the late nineteenth century men from southern African countries trekked to work in the gold and diamond mines in neighbouring South Africa.These included hundreds of men from Lesotho. Basotho men were driven to the South African mines because their means of livelihood in […]
WELKOM – He is dirty and frail, his speech punctuated by a hard, rasping cough that buckles his small frame. He frequently spits up a brownish gunk on to the sludge outside G-hostel, the hub of illegal mining activities in Thabong, a township outside Welkom. Sipho Mahabane is 22 but looks 10 years older. He’s […]
Scrutator JOURNALISTS who prune facts from news incidents to cover up their incompetence normally end up with egg on their faces when their stories fail to “add up”.That other tabloid is enduring a torrid time trying to make sense of the April 22 incident at State House after it tried to sound sophisticated by […]
Bottoms Up with Bacchus CAN you imagine what happens if you publicly accuse the sponsor of your binge of being a notorious bed-hopper? A pal of mine will warn you never to commit such a crime after he opened his mouth too wide just two beers into last Saturday night. It’s not like he […]
MASERU — Property worth about M2 million was reduced to ashes after a fire gutted a furniture shop in the Maseru industrial area on Sunday night. Investigators suspect that the fire at Selkol, a furniture manufacturing company, could have been caused by an electrical fault. Selkol’s mananing director Osmansally Moosa said the fire started at […]
Steaming It Off THERE are things that one gets so used to that when they are no more you actually feel the void — the emptiness of loss. These “things” may vary in terms of the impact or effect they may have on you once they are no longer there. For example, when you […]
Doctor’s Corner BREAST problems are a common reason for patients to visit their doctor and many would be worried about having breast cancer. But only one in 10 patients referred to surgical clinics have a cancer — the remainder have a variety of conditions going under the general title of “benign breast disease”. Many […]
MASERU — Hold your breath! Miss Vodacom PC FM 2009 will drive away a brand new Chevrolet Spark, organisers of the popular beauty pageant announced this week. This will be the first time in the history of the pageant that a car will be the major prize. Vodacom Lesotho has pumped out M150 000 to buy […]
MASERU — Veteran Mo-Afrika FM presenter Teboho “Stobolane” Thomas is no more. The humorous presenter was pronounced dead at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital on Saturday night after suffering from an unconfirmed illness. However, sources said Stobolane had complained of a headache for the past three weeks and was admitted at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital last […]
MASERU — They have toiled for 450 minutes without finding the net. Their last win came exactly 330 days ago when they edged the Comoros 1-0 at the Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup in South Africa. The slide on the FIFA world rankings has continued unabated. At number 164, Lesotho are only better than 43 of […]
MASERU — For the past five years Lesotho’s national team has plummeted, unabated, down FIFA’s world rankings. It’s a freefall that’s been without check or care, and has quickened over the last 16 months. Since an all-time high ranking of 120 in December 2003, Likuena have proceeded to win only eight of their following 40 […]
MASERU — Lesotho captain Lehlohonolo Seema has signed a three-year contract extension with South African football giants Orlando Pirates. The influential defender signed the new deal a fortnight ago. Seema, 29, joined Pirates in 2006 and his contract was expiring at the end of this month. Pirates coach Ruud Krol has signalled intentions to trim […]
Public servants must fulfil their mandate
IN last week’s edition of the Lesotho Times we carried a harrowing story about a woman who gave birth in a toilet at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Maseru. The woman alleged that she delivered the baby in the toilet after nurses had ignored her desperate pleas for help. The baby, who fell on the […]