We’ll snub hearing, says LCD members

MASERU – We will not appear before your “sham” disciplinary committee.

That is the defiant message that four members of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) who are being charged with tarnishing the party’s image have sent to the party.

The hearing has been set for Monday. The disgruntled members, who belong to a faction led by secretary general Teboho Sekata, told a press conference yesterday that the whole disciplinary proceedings would be illegal.

Instead, they said it is in fact party leader, Mothetjoa Metsing who should be hauled before a disciplinary committee. They accused Metsing of embezzling party funds.

“He is corrupt and has been embezzling party funds since he arrived in office,” they said.

The dispute comes two months before the LCD holds an elective conference scheduled for March 23.

The aggrieved members are ’Maleshoboro Moshoeshoe from Mashai constituency, Motlatsi Makenete from the Stadium Area, Jase Makafane from Machache and Molefe Mpole from Maliba-Matšo.

The party said it wants the four to face a disciplinary hearing for tarnishing the image of the party after they insulted Metsing on social media platforms.

Makafane however said they will not appear before the disciplinary hearing unless their leader and his deputy Tšeliso Mokhosi also appear before the same committee “for embezzlement of party funds and other offences”.

He said the letters calling them to appear before the committee were supposed to be from branches of their respective constituencies and not from the national executive committee.

“We are not holding any positions in the party,” Makafane said.

He argued that the letters summoning them to a hearing were not supposed to be written by the party’s MP, Lineo Tlali “because she is not the party’s secretary general”.

Makafane said the letters should have been written by the secretary general or his deputy. He also admitted that they were backing party secretary general Sekata in the power struggles.

He said Sekata is being insulted and hated by the faction led by Metsing.

He said members of the Metsing faction went to the secretary’s office where they chased away an employee and stole the party stamps and letterheads.

These individuals, Makafane said, must also be called to the disciplinary hearing.

Makafane said Metsing is facing lots of corruption cases in the courts which have damaged the party’s image in the eyes of the public.

“He has so many cases above his head. Those are his personal cases and the party should not be forced to pay for his legal costs,” Makafane said.

Metsing is paid benefits of a former deputy Prime Minister and does not earn any salary as an MP. As a result, Makafane said he should have given his parliamentary seat to someone else.

“He only gets his pension, why can’t he leave the parliamentary position for another member?” Makafane asked.

He said all hell broke loose after they tried to push for the party’s NEC elections.

Mokhosi said it is not true that they hate the aggrieved members but they are just giving them an opportunity to answer for themselves.

“If it is true that they are refusing to appear before the committee that would not be in their favour,” he said.

He advised the four to go and answer for themselves before the committee.

“If they want me and the leader to be before the committee, they must lodge a complaint to the party structures like we did with them,” Mokhosi said.

Efforts to get comment from Metsing were not successful last night.

Nkheli Liphoto