MASERU – The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) youth league has alleged that the five party members seeking to block the special conference are pawns in a sinister political game being played by the party’s bigwigs.
The allegation was made by the youth league’s secretary general Lebaka
Bulane in a press statement last Thursday.
“The perpetrators of these acts of rebellion which seem to be on the rise are unfortunately fighting battles that are not their own,” Bulane said in the statement.
“More often than not senior party officials put the youth in the frontline of their battles. We wish to therefore warn the youth to watch out against being used.”
The statement added: “As youth leaders we urge the youth to avoid being used at all cost and to guard against these dangerous elements who are hell-bent on sowing confusion within the LCD.”
Bulane said they were aware that there are members of the LCD youth league who are suing the national executive committee, the 19 to 20 November leadership conference and the LCD.
“This defies and undermines the LCD constitution as well as rules and regulations of this party,” Bulane said.
Bulane said they were worried by rebellious youths who are bent on taking on “battles that are not theirs”.
“We wish to announce therefore that we distance ourselves from this act of rebellion which is in defiance of the LCD constitution.”
We are worried by this nature of fights which always rear their ugly heads towards elections, Bulane said.
On January 31, five LCD members lodged an urgent application in the High Court seeking to block the special conference set for March 19 on grounds that it was “illegal and unconstitutional”.
Of the five applicants, four of them, namely; Ramoshe Maumo, Rammapane Maleke, Ts’oanelo Ramakeoane and Teboho Sekata fall within the LCD youth league structures.
Maumo is the chairman of the Taung constituency youth committee while Maleke is the deputy chairman of the LCD’s Khubetsoana constituency youth committee.
Ramakeoane is a card-carrying youth member of the LCD from the Tsoelike constituency, which is represented by Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili in the National Assembly.
Sekata is the party’s youth member for ’Maletsunyane constituency which is represented by deputy speaker of the National Assembly Sephiri Motanyane.
In an interview with the Lesotho Times this week, Bulane said events that transpired after Mosisili reshuffled the cabinet last year had convinced the youth league that some of its members were being used to destabilise the party.
“It is common knowledge that a significant number of LCD youth league members besieged the LCD headquarters that day on the grounds that they were going to welcome their fired ministers,” Bulane said.
“The ministers being welcomed on the day were deputy secretary general ’M’e Lebohang Nts’inyi and former treasurer Ntate Popane Lebesa. This substantiates the fact that the youth are once again being used.”
