‘Maseribane will never walk alone!

I have been involved in sports for over three decades now and I totally understand the fan-player relationship and can very well connect with it. Who wouldn’t like to see his fans shouting loud from the box and roaring for him? It gives you a nice feel. I play for Masters now and coach a B division football club. When I sit on the bench as I coach and watch my boys, I can say that a player’s goal to win on the ground is way more important than anything else. Seeing the crowd cheer for my boys gives them an adrenaline rush, but, at the same time, it adds a certain pressure. Former Minister of Small Business Development, Thesele ‘Maseribane, is on another level though. He reminds me of a player who comes in as a substitute and is cheered by the fans as if the cheering will remove all obstacles the player will encounter! Unfortunately the people who are shouting and roaring the loudest are not his political party supporters but state institutions. Each time when he is about to go into the field of play, state institutions start shouting loud and roaring for him. Two weeks ago we learned of the sudden resignation of ‘Maseribane and his new appointment as ambassador in Italy. The Director General of the National Security Service (NSS), Pheello Ralenkoane, failed to advise the Prime Minister therefore. In my opinion, Ralenkoane played a very important role in shouting and roaring as he cheered former Basotho National Party (BNP) leader, Thesele in Italy. Ralenkoane unashamedly cheered ‘Maseribane when he indirectly assisted ‘Maseribane in securing an appointment in Italy. He did so when he decided not to take his duties seriously. Ralenkoane categorically denied and deliberately disregarded a series of criminal acts alleged to have been committed by ‘Maseribane. Little did he know that the evidence surrounding ‘Maseribane’s alleged criminal offences is too substantial to be ignored. Through his silence or ill-advice to the Prime Minister he roared the loudest to bring victory to the BNP leader. Ralenkoane knew that the Italian government was going to undertake a vetting process before ‘Maseribane’s credentials could be accepted. When I was to be asked what is the work of NSS my answer would be to provide timely, insightful, objective, and relevant intelligence to inform decisions on national security issues and events. It is Ralenkoane’s duty to provide timely insightful intelligence to the Prime Minister about candidates he wishes to deploy in foreign service. When the intelligence boss fails to advise the Prime Minister we can safely assume that they are saying ‘Maseribane is a person of a high moral calibre. In my opinion, ‘Maseribane and the concept of high moral character are so far apart. He is the very antithesis of a high moral character. ‘Maseribane can be described as a crooked and delinquent politician. Ralenkoane’s judgment of ‘Maseribane should be seen as dangerous and misleading to the people of Lesotho. I would like to believe he did this on purpose to fly the BNP flag with distinction. So who is this Ralenkoane who cheers former leaders of the BNP? Ralenkoane stood in primary elections for the BNP in Kolo constituency in 2017 and lost. He was immediately appointed as the Director General of the NSS by the former Prime Minister Thomas Motsoahae Thabane, at the behest of ‘Maseribane. Another cheerleader who has flown the BNP flag with distinction is the former Director General of the DCEO, Borotho Matsoso, who wrote to ‘Maseribane in 2018 informing him that the anti-corruption body had conducted its investigations and found no evidence of any wrongdoing on his part. Please allow me to remind you that in the letter dated 21 September 2018 the DCEO was reporting to the minister that it had received a report implicating him and Aaron Banks, a controversial British business mogul, in alleged corruption and money laundering. Fortunately I wrote about it in this column some time in September or October in 2018. The allegation was that ‘Maseribane and the BNP received donations from Banks in exchange for pushing for a mining licence in Lesotho. It’s a stunning story that has however ended on a rather disappointing note. In the letter the DCEO tells ‘Maseribane that it had found no evidence of malpractice or use of any undue influence from him as a minister. It is important to note that it was ‘Maseribane who had asked the DCEO to investigate him after his alleged corrupt relationship with Banks was revealed in the media. It should also be mentioned that a few days before the DCEO’s letter ‘Maseribane had already told supporters at a rally that the DCEO’s letter was coming and it was going to declare him as clean as a whistle. It boggled my mind how the DCEO could have made such an emphatic conclusion within such a short period. Equally baffling was why it felt it prudent to write to ‘Maseribane announcing its findings. It was unprecedented because there was never a time when the DCEO had written a letter clearing a person under investigation. What was under investigation is clear. It is a fact that Banks transferred £65 000 (approximately M1 040 000) into ‘Maseribane’s personal bank account in South Africa in 2013. The minister admitted as much in an interview with a British TV station but said it was a donation to the party for its election campaign. Later the Minister’s son reported back to Banks by email: “My father had a meeting with the Minister of Mining and our application has been approved.” Banks reportedly replied: “Finally – now the fun begins.” Notice that the minister’s son says “our application”, which implies that he was in on the venture with Banks. It is not my place to say that there was a corrupt transaction here. Mine is to just point out that given such evidence it was the DCEO’s duty to pursue all angles. There was no need for the DCEO to write the minister a letter that expressly announced that the investigation was dead. Just like Ralenkoane, Matsoso roared the loudest to protect the interests of the BNP and its leadership. It never serves us well for state institutions to act as cheerleaders for specific political parties or its leadership. You’ll Never Walk Alone is perhaps the most famous song in football. The moving song is heard before kick-off at every Liverpool match at Anfield. If Ralenkoane and Matsoso were soccer fans they would be Liverpool fans. I can picture them holding up a giant scarf with the phrase “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” cheering their star player ‘Maseribane. Indeed ‘Maseribane has never walked alone. Ramahooana Matlosa