Mosisili bemoans ‘Matekane tsunami’

MASERU – THE Sam Matekane “tsunami” has dealt us a major blow and it is now time for Democratic Congress (DC) supporters to lick their wounds.

That is the blunt message from retired DC leader, Pakalitha Mosisili.

Mosisili was speaking at the DC’s election postmortem summit in Ha-Mabekenyane, Berea, on Friday.

He said the DC’s performance was extremely disappointing adding he still does not understand how party leader, Mathibeli Mokhothu, received votes less than his main contender.

Mokhothu won the Qhoali constituency in Quthing with 3 660 votes while his chief competitor, the Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) leader, Sam Matekane, garnered 4 629 votes in hisMantšonyane constituency.

“Why did he get those small numbers?” Mosisili said.

“He is even below the leader of a new party that arrived yesterday who obtained over 4 000 votes,” he said.

But what appears to have irked Mosisili was the fact that the DC did not perform well even in its strongholds of Lebakeng, Tsoelike and Qacha’s Nek although it won the constituencies.

In Lebakeng constituency, the DC’s Letsakang Moloi managed to get a paltry 3 438 votes while the second runner-up, the RFP’s Ntšiuoa Sekete, got 1 894.

In Qacha’s Nek constituency, the DC’s Busa Mohlahlobi had 2 663 votes while his chief competitor, the RFP’s Maphathe Doti got 1 371 votes.

In Mosisili’s own Tsoelike constituency, the DC’s Tšeliso Nkoefoshe got 3 162 votes against the RFP’s Lehlohonolo Ramahali with 1 411 votes.

Mosisili told the DC members that he pledged to his successor that all Qacha’s Nek constituencies would be won by the DC but to his dismay “we won with the lowest numbers ever in the history of

Qacha’s Nek, why is that?”

He urged the party members to sit down and brainstorm on the reasons that made their party fail to reach where they wanted.

“Let us lick our wounds because we do have them. This Tsunami has dealt us a blow.”

Mosisili also urged the DC leadership to introspect and retrospect so that they can “easily map the way forward so that the members can follow”.

“Elections are a fundamental right of every citizen to choose those who will govern them,” he said.

“In other countries, some people fight for that right of voting, even here we fought Leabua in 1970 for denying Basotho their rights.”

He recalled that in South Africa uMkhonto we Sizwe was founded to fight for the right to vote.

“Some people even went to prison and others are in graves for fighting for that right,” he said.

He said the conference should rethink the ways to sensitise the nation to understand their role in election.

“I thought I would never be consoled after the election results were announced but I was later consoled after reading the Bible,” he said.

He encouraged the DC members not to fight the people who won but should accept defeat peacefully.

“But to me what happened is still a mystery. We do not know what happened.”

“If what happened has been done by man it will end. But if it comes from God, it will not end.”

He told the DC members to go back to their constituencies and carry on with their duties of campaigning for the party.

Nkheli Liphoto