News

RFP MP Lephema guilty of electoral misconduct

Published

2 years ago

November 29, 2022

admin

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Tribunal this week found the Teya-Teyaneng MP for the Revolution for Prosperity (RFP), Lebona Lephema, guilty of violating the electoral conduct.

The tribunal, which sat on Tuesday just three days after Lephema won the constituency with a large margin, issued a written verdict today.

The tribunal, made up of Sofonea Shale, ‘Mantsoaki Moorosi, and Advocate Moeti Marai, found that Lephema promised to build a mall in Teya-Teyaneng and moved his earth-moving equipment to a site in Ha-Mphele, within the constituency, where the mall will be built.

The tribunal also found that moving the equipment to the site where the mall would be built “was likely to influence voters in a manner that the Electoral Code of Conduct does not approve”.

The tribunal slapped Lephema with a fine of M3 000 payable within seven days.

Lephema’s candidature has not been nullified.

The complainants were the Democratic Congress (DC)’s Bokang Ramatsella, Liteboho Mofolo of the All Basotho Convention (ABC), and representatives of United for Change (UFC), and the Basotho Patriotic Party (BPP).