…legislator to hand himself over to the police Tuesday after failed attempt to arrest him
Our Reporter
MASERU, Lesotho – Police in Maseru are hunting opposition legislator Machesetsa Mofomobe after a warrant for his arrest was issued Monday.
Machesetsa, who is the leader of opposition party Basotho National Party (BNP), was said to have been away when heavily armed officers from the Special Operations Unit (SOU) pounced on his party offices in Maseru on Monday evening seeking to arrest him.
However, the police failed to find him.
Nonetheless, Mofomobe told Africa News 24 on Monday that he would report to the police “tomorrow to inquire about the said warrant”.
By late Monday evening, it was unclear why the police sought to arrest him.
The outspoken legislator has lately been in the news over a motion of no confidence against prime minister Sam Matekane.
Machesetsa filed the motion on 13 October Friday. It was seconded by the Democratic Congress (DC)’s Makhaleng constituency legislator, Mootsi Lehata.
They planned to replace Matekane with DC leader, Mathibeli Mokhothu.
The 120 members of parliament (MPs) were expected to vote on: “That this honourable house has no confidence in the current government of Lesotho which is led by Prime Minister Sam Matekane; and this honourable house begs leave to urge His Majesty the King to appoint the Official Leader of Opposition, Mathibeli Mokhothu, as prime minister”.
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While this is Matekane’s first motion of no confidence, if it succeeds, his tenure could go down in history as one of the shortest the country has ever had. The tiny mountain kingdom is a highly politically charged environment that has had five different governments in the last decade.
Matekane’s government came in with the hopes to achieve stability after his Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party garnered 57 constituencies from the 80 across the country.
However, the motion is now hanging in the balance with Matekane’s camp getting the support of the Professor Nqosa Mahao led Basotho Action Party (BAP)’s six MPs and another from Lesotho People’s Congress leader, Paul Masiu who crossed the floor from opposition to the government side last week.
