Scrutator believes a society must be able to introspect and even laugh at itself for it to correct its vices and move forward.
It is not surprising therefore that Scrutator is a big fan of Loyiso Gola’s Late Nite News comic show on e-News.
In this show there are no sacred cows; no South African is spared both big and small.
President Jacob Zuma features regularly each time he makes a blunder. And talk of the media cartoonist Zapiro.
He has basically reduced President Zuma into a laughing stock with that trademark showerhead.
Zuma knows too well he has himself to blame for all this. His remarks in that infamous rape trial in which he said he took a shower to rid himself of HIV after penetrating a girl he knew to be HIV positive will forever rank as the most banal talk of the century.
Miffed by Zapiro’s persistent depiction of him as a balderdash leader, Zuma sued the cartoonist and a plethora of other media houses.
However, to his immense credit Zuma realised that anyone accepting political office automatically forfeits many of their rights, including that so well celebrated right to privacy that many a politician wants to hide behind.
In fact in a democracy it’s good to lampoon and caricature political leaders to the extent of monotonous regularity.
What a pity that Lesotho still has a national television system that broadcasts only a few hours a day and completely lacks satirists like Loyiso Gola.
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e cannot therefore laugh at ourselves in introspection.
Scrutator would certainly have loved to have Loyiso’s take on one Temeki Tšolo. For those with short memories, Tšolo is that man who was once the Kingdom’s Minister of Trade before Thom Thabane’s heavy hand of discipline claimed his scalp.
I certainly feel some sympathy for Tšolo. Having been used to a seat at the apex of the ivory tower and to all the niceties that come with being in Cabinet, Tsolo must be an immensely frustrated man back there in rugged Mafeteng.
Tšolo has nevertheless elected to direct his frustrations at the wrong team, i.e. Scrutator’s team.
Ask anyone who has crossed my path Tšolo and they will tell you that you can never win a battle in which Scrutator is involved.
Remember Tšolo was fired after his seemingly unchecked temper saw him physically assault a Lesotho Revenue Authority officer in an altercation involving M10 change.
Last week, Tsolo decided his venomous temper must now be re-directed to the Lesotho Times.
In a rude phone call to this newspaper, Tsolo ordered us to stop writing about him and referring to his ignominious exit from government.
This was after we had published a picture of him in one of our stories last week about the firing of Tim Thahane while also explaining that Tšolo was the first cabinet minister to be dismissed.
Because I respect you the readers of this newspaper, I shall not repeat Tšolo’s unprintable insults directed at the reporters and owners of your highly esteemed publication.
From what I could glean from his insults, as repeated by several colleague who answered the phone, Tšolo does not seem to think much of us as Basotho.
In fact he seems to think that anything good in this country, including the Lesotho Times, must have some foreign parentage and it must be foreign owned and directed. And on that rare occasion that the foreigner strays, or at least annoys Tšolo, he or she must leave the country.
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f this is Tšolo’s reasoning, the voters of Mafeteng will be justified to emulate Thabane and show him the door. He does not deserve to be an MP in a serious democracy as ours. Scrutator has one word for Tšolo; We Basotho think for ourselves and don’t need foreigners to show us mediocrity. Thabane who rightly showed you the door Ntate is not a foreigner.
Scrutator has some quick free advice for you. Ostracise yourself to Planet Pluto where you will not have to worry about reading yourself in the media ever again.
Your behaviour has opened a can of worms and Scrutator won’t take it lying down.
It does not help that Scrutator has since relocated to Maseru from the high mountains of the Kingdom.
If there is no story to write about you on any week, Scrutator will simply plaster that picture of yours you don’t like much on an insalubrious page with a teasing caption.
All this just to miff you. From today, I make sure you forever become my business Ntate. I shall also second our paparazzi to watch your every step.
All this will not be to retaliate for your bout of verbal pugilism against this newspaper last week. It will be to send one clear message to all politicians in Lesotho: Don’t mess up with the media and in particular with Scrutator.
Politicians cannot bully the media and expect to get away with it.
Once you engage us in the manner that Tsolo did, we come after you.
If you treat us with respect, we still come after you because it’s our duty to regularly lampoon politicians and keep them under check.
Once you accept political office, you forfeit all your rights.
Not merely some of them. And the higher you scale the social ladder, the more you expose your hind-side.
I want that picture of your rear Ntate. If you could blow up to such levels, after the publication of such a handsome picture of yours Ntate, imagine what you will do with the publication of a picture showing your naked hind.
You will probably walk into my newsroom with an AK.
But be assured my private Russian tanker will be waiting for you. Ache!
