MP attacks law firm

MASERU – THE government’s decision to hire Webber Newdigate law firm to handle the Principal Secretaries (PS) case has riled an opposition MP.

Mootsi Lehata, who is the Democratic Congress (DC) MP for Makhaleng, told parliament last week that the government had erred when it hired Webber Newdigate, which he said was a foreign firm.

He asked Deputy Prime Minister Justice Nthomeng Majara why it had picked Webber Newdigate and the criteria it used to do so.

He also wanted to know how much the government had paid to Webber Newdigate for the case.

Lehata asked Justice Majara to “shed some light on how Webber Newdigate Attorneys were recruited regarding Case No. CIV/APN/55/2023”.

He also wanted to know “whether there were no local law firms which could handle the case, and also to provide the agreement between the Government of Lesotho and Webber Newdigate”.

He said the amount of money paid by the government or the money that is still owed should also be disclosed.

Justice Majara was not in parliament to respond to the questions. Instead, Public Service Minister Richard Ramoeletsi, who responded on behalf of the government, told the MPs that it was the Attorney General who sourced the services of Webber Newdigate.

“He is the one with the powers to choose firms that represent the government,” Ramoeletsi said.

He said Webber Newdigate is a Lesotho-licensed and owned firm of lawyers and was chosen correctly.

“No Lesotho company was side-lined while doing so,” he said.

He added that Webber Newdigate even allows Basotho to work within it.

“The government decided to work with it after noticing their expertise in what they are doing,” he said.

On the money paid or owed, Ramoeletsi said they do not know because Webber Newdigate has not yet issued them with an invoice.

“The government has not yet paid this firm.”

The Popular Front for Democracy (PFD) leader, Advocate Lekhetho Rakuoane, stood up saying it was “unprofessional for the minister to say the Attorney General asks for permission from the government before appointing a law firm to represent the government”.

“What you just said is unprofessional because the powers to choose are vested in the Attorney General,” Advocate Rakuooane said.

Minister Ramoeletsi insisted that the law firm “was chosen in consultations with the government”.

The Deputy Speaker Tšepang Tšita-Mosena said it would be prudent for ministers to be accompanied by their officers in parliament to help with answering questions.

“Your officers must come here and help you answer the questions as they are your (assistants),” Tšita-Mosena said.

She advised the minister to go back and look for the proper answers from the officers in government.

Lehata’s question was deferred.

The 10 PS’ were challenging the government’s decision to terminate their contracts arguing the move was illegal and undermined the rule of law.

The PSs, in a letter addressed to Webber Newdigate, said their “replacement is an unlawful and illegal set-up which is clearly intended to siphon the resources of the state under false pretences”.

The government last week signed a settlement deal to pay off the PS’ ending a bruising battle that had dragged in the courts for the past four months.\

Nkheli Liphoto