Top spies up for fraud

MASERU – TWO top National Security Services (NSS) were on Tuesday charged for fraudulently hiring 86 secret agents in 2016.

As a result of the unlawful recruitment, the government has lost a staggering M6.4 million through payment of salaries over the years, the prosecution says.

The two were granted bail of M5 000 each and they will again appear in court on April 4.

Tau Makhalemele, 49, of Mahobong in the district of Leribe and Teboho Liau, 43, of Masowe, were nabbed by the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO).

Court papers show that the duo enrolled and enlisted four information officers and 86 officers in the NSS without following proper procedures.

Their decision to hire the 90 officers was in clear violation of the official advertisement which demanded only 50 officers.

The court papers further state that Makhalemele was the director of human resources while Liau was the human resources manager.

The court heard that on January 26, 2016, the then Director General of NSS, Mohlolo Lerotholi, requested the principal secretary to fill 50 vacancies of intelligence officers.

“The request was granted by the principal secretary,” the court papers showed.

They further showed that the advertisement was released on February 4, 2016.

Interested candidates who were between the ages of 18 and 25 and who were in possession of a Cambridge Overseas School Certificate (COSC) and diploma qualifications were invited to apply.

The closing date was March 10, 2016.

On March 17 of the same year, Lerotholi left the NSS and Lealimo Makakole, the Deputy Director General, acted as the Director General.

During that time, the court papers show, the recruitment process did not take place and no interviews were held.

Also the recruitment process was halted after the applications were sent to the office of human resources by district security officers from 10 districts.

In September 2016 when the new Director General, Colonel Tumo Lekhooa who had been seconded from the Military Intelligence entered the office it became apparent that the two men “enrolled and enlisted four information officers and 86 information officers in the NSS without following proper procedures and contrary to the advertisement made which demanded 50 officers”.

The prosecution said between December 19, 2016 and September 9 the following year, the two officers “being employees of the state, shared a common purpose or intention to pursue an unlawful act”.

“They together and in pursuit of such common purpose made a false representation or conceal from another a fact which in the circumstances had a duty to reveal,” the charge sheet reads.

The court heard that the two men presented the new illegally hired spies to the NSS employees in the salaries department to process their salaries by the positions and grades filled in the employment forms.

“At the same time of the representation the accused knew or had reason to believe that those people were not employees of the NSS,” the charge sheet says.

“Because of this, the government has suffered actual prejudice in the said amount.”

Nkheli Liphoto