MASERU — Three fugitives who returned to Lesotho last March to answer charges of treason on Monday resigned from the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party. The resignation of the three, all card-carrying members of the ABC, could pile pressure on party leader Thomas Thabane. The fugitives served as bodyguards for Thabane before they fled to […]
ROMA — Pressure is piling on the National University of Lesotho (NUL) council to suspend vice-chancellor Adelani Ogunrinade for allegedly flouting university regulations, neglecting duties and poor performance. Ogunrinade, who was appointed vice-chancellor in 2006, is also accused of abusing funds from a Kellogg Foundation programme undertaken in conjunction with the NUL. The latest calls […]
MASERU — Ultimate FM station manager Lerato Tsósane has been kicked out of the youth radio following the station’s brief closure after a labour dispute last month. Tsósane was reassigned to Lesotho Television which falls under the Ministry of Communications’ department of broadcasting on April 15, two weeks after the incident that forced the station […]
MASERU — Two men who are alleged to have been involved in last month’s failed attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili appeared in court last week charged with kidnapping and robbery. Solomon Mabasa, 46, from Orange Farm in South Africa and Antonio Joseses Lopes, 37, from Mozambique appeared before chief magistrate Molefi Makara last […]
MASERU — A 54-year-old Mafeteng man, Neo Rapitsi, was this week jailed for five years after he was found guilty of culpable homicide. Rapitsi stabbed Motiki Khoasa on the chest killing him instantly following an argument over Khoasa’s wife. The prosecution said Rapitsi provoked Khoasa during a traditional feast at Thabaneng when he asked him […]
THERE are growing concerns over the manner in which the judicial system is conducting its business. Citizens and other stakeholders have for a long time now been clamouring for transparency and quality in the delivery of justice. It would be pretentious to assume that these people who are calling for an overhaul of the judiciary […]
THE long-awaited South African elections have come and gone. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) registered an emphatic victory during the polls held two weeks ago. This Saturday ANC leader Jacob Zuma will be sworn in as South Africa’s third democratically elected president. The whole world is watching to see if the new government under […]
SCRUTATOR has always commiserated with her media colleagues in the battle for a free press. In fact, yours truly has been championing the media freedom jihad from the front for eons. In this week that we marked World Press Freedom Day, I would have expected to hear eulogies highlighting the trials and tribulations that pressmen, […]
DOCTOR’S CORNER TRANSIENT feelings of sadness and disappointment are a part of normal life. When these feelings are prolonged and “overly intense and continue beyond the expected impact of a life stressor or arise in the absence of a stressor”, we say that the person has a depressive disorder. In medicine, the term depression has […]
STEAMING IT OFF I WAS rather annoyed the other day when some dude commented — snidely at that — that I use my mobile phone too much! He was so intent on telling me this that the flashing red lights, looking like daggers in my eyes, were not enough warning for him to back down. […]
MASERU — Gospel outfit Yadah Praise Family is set for its first live recording in the capital next month. The album, as well as a DVD, will be the group’s first recording on the market since their first project flopped over two years ago. Soon after their establishment in 2006, Yadah Praise Family released their […]
MASERU — A group of young dancers from Likuena High School in Mohale’s Hoek is set to tour Germany next month. The students will perform traditional dances and songs as part of events to mark the city of Gummersbach’s 900 years of existence. The city of 54 000 people is in the German state of North […]
MASERU — MoAfrika FM boss Ratabane Ramainoane’s trial for allegedly stealing cookies and a public telephone has been postponed to June 1. The case was moved from last week to allow Ramainoane and his co-accused to have their legal representative in court when the hearing resumes. Ramainoane, who is also editor of MoAfrika newspaper, is […]
MASERU — For the first time in the history of football in Lesotho, two Premier League teams will play in a virtually empty stadium this weekend. The Premier League management committee has decreed that Rovers and LMPS replay their abandoned match at Roma with virtually no supporters watching. This comes after the abandonment of the […]
JOHANNESBURG — South African legend Mark Fish has decried age cheating in football which he says is Africa’s biggest problem. The former Bolton Wanderers defender, capped 62 times by South Africa, said football on the continent had failed to realise its potential because of rampant age cheating. “Age cheating in African football is a big […]
JOHANNESBURG — The Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa has assured the world that the country’s new government will not affect preparations for the event. Controversial politician Jacob Zuma will be inaugurated as the country’s new president this weekend after leading his African National Congress to victory in last […]
JOHANNESBURG — The world football governing body FIFA has said it is too early to say whether or not the outbreak of swine flu will affect next month’s Confederations Cup in South Africa. FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke said they were monitoring the outbreak of the fever that sparked alerts throughout the world. By last […]
MASERU — Two months after winning promotion to the Premier League, Leribe outfit Nyenye Rovers completed a “double” when they won the A-Division Top Eight finals in Mokhotlong on Sunday. “The fairytale continues,” Hopolang Ntseli, Rovers’ president, told the Lesotho Times this week. “We are people who believe. I don’t know what else I can […]
MASERU — Paul Mullen from the English Football Association left Lesotho on Tuesday after spending two weeks in the country. Mullen, who is the FA’s head of governance projects, was in Lesotho as part of the UEFA/CAF Meridian Project started eight years ago. The project provides smaller football associations with assistance from more established ones. […]
MASERU — When the clock strikes five on Sunday, the kingdom will be closer to knowing where the Premier League crown is heading. The three-headed monster that is the premiership race will take another twist this weekend. Much is riding on Lioli. After LDF assistant coach Motheo Mohapi’s rumblings last week it is Lioli’s turn […]
LONDON — Andres Iniesta last night scored one of the most dramatic goals in Champions League history to sink Chelsea and send ten-man Barcelona into a Champions League final showdown with Manchester United. Three minutes into injury time in a second leg that Chelsea had completely dominated, the Spain midfielder latched on to a pass […]
LONDON — Manchester United swept back into the Champions League final as the holders produced a stunning 3-1 win over Arsenal in their semi-final second leg on Tuesday. Alex Ferguson’s side arrived at the Emirates Stadium holding only a slender 1-0 lead from last week’s first leg, but United scored twice in the first 11 […]
MASERU — ’Mamotonosi Nkhahle, the MP whose husband killed National Independent Party (NIP) leader Dominic Motikoe (Pictured) in a cold-blood murder on Monday night says jealous triggered the tragic incident. ‘Mamotonosi’s husband Sebili Nkhahle shot Motikoe dead — in a suspected love triangle — on Monday around 6pm in Maputsoe. ’Mamotonosi who is an […]
MASERU — Police have identified fugitive Makotoko Lerotholi, as the mastermind of last Wednesday’s foiled assassination attempt on Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili. Lerotholi, a former army officer, was one of six men who fled the country in June 2007 after being accused of trying to topple the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) government. The six […]
MASERU — Last week’s assassination attempt on Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili has triggered a bitter war of words between the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) and opposition parties. The LCD says the attacks were politically motivated and has insinuated that some opposition parties could have had a hand in the whole incident. This has […]
MASERU — The ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) has won three out of four local government by-elections held last Saturday. One council was won by the main opposition All Basotho Convention (ABC) party. The poorly attended polls were held in the four districts of Mokhotlong, Berea, Mafeteng and Mohale’s Hoek. In Mapholaneng, Mokhotlong, LCD’s […]
BUTHA-BUTHE — Qalo villagers in Butha-Buthe have accused their councillor, Seqache Sekhochoa, of spending most of his time in local bars instead of working to develop the community. They have called for his demotion for what they said “was serious neglect of duty and incompetence”. The villagers say councillor Sekhochoa had to address the people’s […]
MASERU — A serious conflict is brewing between judges and lawyers over a commission of inquiry set up by the Law Society of Lesotho to investigate the crisis in the county’s judiciary. The Law Society set up the commission last year to investigate “any possible corrupt, unprofessional, unethical and unjudicial practices that may have crept […]
MASERU — National Security Services (NSS) boss Mohau Thaha says last week’s foiled attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili does not mean his department’s is failing. The attack, which came barely two years after attacks at homes of government ministers in 2007, had raised questions about the state of security. Thaha told the Lesotho […]
Disabled still get raw deal
FINANCE Minister Timothy Thahane was reported last February promising to remain focused to achieve sustainable economic growth and protect the vulnerable. The budget speech presented to parliament last February caught my attention because of that aspect. But having gone through the speech again and listened to the finance minister’s speeches at other fora I wonder […]