LNA boss, executive booted out

MASERU – Lesotho Netball Association (LNA) president ‘Mamotšabi Lekhabunyane and her executive committee have been booted out of the association after a motion of no confidence was passed against them last weekend.

The motion was brought forward by LNA member clubs after the Lesotho Sport and Recreation Commission (LSRC) and Lesotho National Olympic Committee (LNOC) dragged their feet in resolving the internal fights that had engulfed the association since last year.

The LNA executive committee was divided into two camps with one camp trying their utmost to oust Lekhabunyane and her faction.

Several letters were written with the most explosive one coming from the association’s secretary general, Lineo Palime, which was addressed to Lekhabunyane and accused her of many things including suffocating developmental projects.

Lekhabunyane and her executive committee were labelled ‘corrupt and incompetent’ by some members and they were ousted by 29 votes; 14 were against the motion.

The LNA is now led by an interim committee made up of Tumelo Sefali from Rovers, ‘Malineo Foko of LMPS and ‘Mathaabe Majara from Thetsane. A permanent committee is set to be elected 21 days from now.

The clubs say they were out of the loop as to what was happening with the association under Lekhabunyane’s leadership, so much that they had no clue about her trip to South Africa for the African Netball World Cup qualifiers in August which Lesotho was not part of.

The LNA internal squabbles had intensified around June when Palime and her faction made a serious push to oust the Lekhabunyane, treasurer Keketso Mokitimi as well as her other associates and that is when Lekhabunyane went to the LSRC and LNOC asking for intervention.

However, as is often the case, the LSRC had its hands full with other sports association squabbles that needed solving and netball was apparently not a priority at the time.

The wait dragged on until members could not wait anymore and they called for a special general meeting last weekend at the Police Training College and booted out Lekhabunyane’s executive.

Executives in local sport associations always run out of words explaining that they are just volunteers but, oddly enough, they always fight tooth and nail to cling on to these unpaid positions.

The association’s spokesperson Telang Machela, however, has already ruled himself out of running for any position again.

He said he wants to step aside and give others a chance. Machela’s speciality is coaching and he said that is what he wants to focus on now and make sure the development of netball flourishes.

“I am done, I have no interest in contesting, I want to give others a chance. I am a coach and running the association is not something that interests me,” Machela said.

“I want to focus on the development of netball,” he added.

“All the districts I coached in the south, netball went a level up – Mohale’s Hoek, Quthing, Qacha’s Nek, now I am in Mafeteng and it is going up. This is what I love doing.”

Speaking to thepost on Tuesday, Thabo Mokhobocho of the Lesotho Correctional Service netball club said members had been affected by the infighting in the LNA executive because there was no leadership. One camp was saying one thing and the other was saying another, he said.

“The administration in general was not good, we were not up-to-date with the progress and happenings of the association.

We only knew the president was out of the country because we are netball followers but we were never told about it,” Mokhobocho said.

Efforts to get a comment from Lekhabunyane were fruitless as her phone rang unanswered.

Tlalane Phahla