Staff Reporters
XIE Yan, who was recently appointed as Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s special projects head and trade adviser, has come out guns blazing against his detractors whom he has accused of trying to sabotage his new role of assisting the Prime Minister’s developmental agenda.
Mr Xie accused his detractors of embarking on a campaign of malicious slander against him to try and tarnish his image and distract him from playing his role in assisting the Prime Minister boost investment and trade relations with Asian nations.
Mr Xie made the remarks in an interview with the Lesotho Times after his detractors accused him of possessing multiple passports from different countries, which would be in contravention of Lesotho’s immigration laws.
Mr Xie, who is a Lesotho citizen of Chinese origin, has vehemently denied the allegation, saying it was being disseminated by an adversary to tarnish his name.
Dr Thabane’s Press Attaché, Thabo Thakalekoala, also vouched for Mr Xie, saying the government would not be “so irresponsible” as to appoint a person with multiple passports.
Mr Xie was appointed as Lesotho Head of Special Projects and Prime Minister’s Special Envoy and Trade Advisor on China-Asia Trade Network earlier this month.
The appointment has been criticized by opposition parties and other stakeholders arguing that the controversy surrounding Mr Xie’s business dealings disqualified him from assuming such a position.
However, Mr Thakalekoala had said the appointment was meant to leverage Mr Xie’s “extensive business connections” in the Far East to foster foreign direct investment in Lesotho and create jobs for Basotho.
The Lesotho Times was approached by a man, who did not want to be identified but who alleged that Mr Xie had Zimbabwean, Chinese and Australian passports in addition to his Lesotho passport. Mr Xie holds a Lesotho passport issued in 2014 and expiring in 2024.
The man had copies of passports allegedly issued to Mr Xie. The copies seemed to suggest that Mr Xie had a Chinese passport issued on 18 August 2011 and set to expire on 18 August 2021. The Zimbabwean passport was purportedly issued on 4 December 2007 and is set to expire on 4 December 2017.
The Australian passport was purportedly valid between 18 August 2005 and 18 August 2011. It was not clear whether it was renewed after its expiry or not. The man further claimed that Mr Xie had not yet surrendered the other passports. The Lesotho Times cannot vouch for the validity nor the authenticity of the copies of the passports said to belong to Mr Xie.
However, Mr Xie rubbished the allegations in an interview yesterday, saying they were being disseminated by frustrated detractors and rivals. He particularly singled out one rival whose identity he would not be drawn to divulge.
“It’s all lies, and I know the person who gave you that information because he has been trying to taint my name by suing me in South Africa.
“But I have been cleared and implore you to carry out your own investigations. Also check with the South African intelligence. I only have one passport at the moment,” the Maseru businessman said.
Holding various passports for a Lesotho citizen would be in contravention of the Constitution which states that: “Any person who, upon the attainment of the age of 21 years, is a citizen of Lesotho and also a citizen of some country other than Lesotho shall cease to be a citizen of Lesotho upon the specified date unless he has renounced his citizenship of that other country, taken the oath of allegiance and, in the case of a person who is a citizen of Lesotho by descent, made and registered such declaration of his intentions concerning residence as may be prescribed by Parliament.”
For his part, Mr Thakalekoala said the government vetted Mr Xie before engaging him.
“Before the appointment, he was vetted thoroughly. The government would not be so irresponsible as to appoint someone who violates Lesotho’s and other nations’ immigration laws,” he said.
“I don’t believe the prime minister would do something like that because he is the face and custodian of the laws governing the Kingdom of Lesotho.”
