Mohloai Mpesi
Two Members of Parliament (MPs) from the ruling Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) are embroiled in a bitter feud, with one legislator accused of making death threats to the other’s wife.
The MP for Qeme constituency, Sello Hakane, has accused Matelile MP, Maimane Maphathe, of interfering in his constituency by canvassing for his (Maphathe’s) wife, Nthati Mosebi, to unseat him as the RFP candidate for Qeme ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In turn, Mr Maphathe has accused Ms Hakane of threatening to kill Ms Mosebi, who serves as the chairperson of the RFP Qeme Constituency Committee.
Ms Mosebi has corroborated the claim, stating that Mr Hakane made multiple threats against her life, which she has reported to the police. She said Mr Hakane was jealousy over her growing popularity within the constituency, hence his belief that she was trying to unseat him.
Mr Hakane, however, denied the accusations, claiming his primary concern was retaining his position as the RFP candidate for Qeme. He said Ms Mosebi, with Mr Maphathe’s backing, posed a direct threat to his political career and his bid for a second term in Parliament.
Ms Mosebi, on the other hand, claimed Mr Hakane vowed to “smash” her before the 2027 elections and has started acting on that threat.
“His people came to me, telling me that he wants to get rid of me because he sees me as a threat. The people of Qeme love me, and he fears he won’t be re-elected in 2027. He wants a second term to qualify for a pension,” Ms Mosebi said.
“These issues are with the police, so I cannot go into detail about what happened.”
Ms Mosebi also claimed that her efforts to fulfill the promises Mr Hakane made to the constituency, but had since failed to implement, had earned her the support of the people. One example was a football tournament she organised during the Easter holidays, which was attended by other RFP MPs, including Abinyane Mahatanya, Moshe Mokotoko, Lebohang Phohleli, and Mr Maphathe.
She said Mr Hakane was not pleased with this, as he did not contribute to the tournament despite having promised to convene a similar event.
“Mr Maphathe has been in politics for a long time. He wouldn’t cause confusion in the Qeme constituency. Qeme is my home. For years, people asked Hakane for tournaments, but he never showed interest. He said it was a waste of money and that he was saving up to win the primary elections in 2027. I gave the community wheelchairs, donated sheep to initiation schools, and organised the tournament.
“Other RFP MPs came to support me. Besides, Mr Maphathe is my husband, and has every right to support me.”
When contacted for comment, an emotional Mr Maphathe told the Lesotho Times that he was aware of Mr Hakane’s plots against his wife.
“This issue makes me angry. I entered politics before Sello. He must stop all these plots against my wife. He must stop talking nonsense about me. I don’t know him, I don’t care about him, and I will never be his friend.
“If he wants to kill my wife, let him continue. I know he’s made plans against her, even threatening her life and plotting to have people assault her. I have kept quiet while he has been fighting with her over various issues. Sometimes, he said people should write letters of no confidence against her,” Maphathe said.
For his part, Hakane rejected Mosebi’s claims that he had tried to kill her. While he acknowledged once saying he wanted to “smash” her, he clarified that this did not mean he wanted to kill her.
“What I meant by ‘smash’ is that I want to remove her from her position so she won’t compete against me in 2027.….There is no evidence that I made death threats to her. She’s interpreting ‘smash’ as ‘to kill’, but that is not what I meant. I just want to close her path to competition,” Mr Hakane said.
He also accused Ms Mosebi and Mr Maphathe of being involved with famo gangsters in Matelile and claimed Ms Mosebi had previously been arrested for suspected involvement in a killing.
He further claimed that Ms Mosebi was trying to suppress him politically by not allowing him to speak at community events.
“Any activity in the constituency where the organiser or the chief addresses people without allowing the MP to speak shows that they want to shut me down,” Mr Hakane said.
RFP spokesperson, Mokhethi Shelile, was unavailable for comment, and his deputy, Thabo Maretlane, said he was unaware of the feud.
