LESOTHO: FORMER POLITICAL REFUGEES GIVE PRESS CONFERENCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000142

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/S, DS/IP/AF, DS/IP/ITA
PRETORIA FOR DATT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC PGOV LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO: FORMER POLITICAL REFUGEES GIVE PRESS CONFERENCE

REF: A) 07 MASERU 398 B) 07 MASERU 385 C) MASERU 116

MASERU 00000142 001.2 OF 002


--------------
Summary
--------------


1. Three Lesotho nationals who fled Lesotho in July 2007 held a
press conference on Monday, May 4, 2009, two months after their
return to Lesotho from South Africa. The LDF had detained the
men in 2007 in connection with the search for army rifles which
had been forcibly taken from military guards at ministerial
residences (refs A & B). Originally, six men fled Lesotho at
different times after some of them were detained by the Lesotho
Defense Force (LDF) and others fled fearing the army would
detain them as well. All six were part of opposition leader Tom
Thabane's security team. One died in exile, one remains in
South Africa, and four have now returned to Lesotho. At the
press conference, the group informed the press corps about the
ordeal they went through while in exile and stressed that they
would be "staying out of politics" for some time to come.

-------------- --------------
Former asylum seekers promote ABC leadership change
-------------- --------------


2. Motlomelo Elias Motlomelo, Mokherane Tsatsanyane, and Thabo
Thants'i convened a press conference on Monday, May 4, 2009 at
the Roman Catholic church hall in Maseru. This was their first
public appearance since their return to Lesotho in March 2009.
The purpose of the press event was to notify the Basotho people
that they are back in the country and express their gratitude to
those who helped them when they were in exile in South Africa.
They talked about the hardship they went through and took the
opportunity to criticize Tom Thabane and the entire leadership
of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) for not providing any
assistance to them while they were in South Africa. They
claimed that they obtained political assistance through their
own initiative without any help from their party. Thants'i
stated that his mother passed away while he was still in exile,
and after his arrival in the country, he did get any support
from the leadership of the ABC. He expressed anger that there
were no ABC representatives at his mother's funeral. On behalf
of the group, Tsatsanyane stated that they were still ABC
members but they are no longer going to take part in active
politics for some time, or until there is a change in the
leadership of the party.

-------------- --------------
On "probation," though never charged with a crime
-------------- --------------


3. Tsatsanyane pointed out that in their endeavor to exonerate
themselves from the 2007 attacks on ministerial residences they
contacted Commissioner of Police `Malejaka Letooane and her
Assistant for Criminal Investigation Service (CIS) John Selete
to inform them of their desire to come back to Lesotho and hand
themselves over to the police. According to the three men, the
police agreed with their request and upon arrival they were
questioned by police and released but no charges were filed
against them. Motlomelo expressed concern that they were
accused of high treason in Lesotho but after they fled from
Lesotho, the Lesotho authorities never made a formal request for
their extradition, which he said illustrates that they were
accused of crimes they did not commit. He said they are
required to report to the police every day except on Sundays
even though they have never been charged with any crime.

-------------- --------------
Asylum seekers claim GOL using Lerotholi as scapegoat
-------------- --------------


4. Tsatsanyane, although reluctant to elaborate, indicated that
they will take some kind of legal action against the government
for the suffering they went through. They plan to do that once
Makotoko Lerotholi (ref C) is back in Lesotho. They were also
adamant that reports from the police indicate that Lerotholi is
still in South Africa and could not have been involved in the
recent attempted assassination of the Prime Minister in Maseru.
He added that even in the 2008 attacks on military and police
vehicles, the police and the LDF claimed Lerotholi was seen but
Tsatsanyane argued that the two were together in Johannesburg at
the time and Lerotholi was ill. He added that it was a pity
that some people have chosen to use him as a scapegoat.
Tsatsanyane said that the group should be left to live in peace,
and urged authorities to investigate a lot of crimes which have
remained unsolved, such as the killing of the Prime Minister's
son in 2001 and the fatal shooting of the late BNP member,
Bereng Sekhonyana, in 2006. The three men concluded by pledging
their allegiance to the King of Lesotho, and urging the youth to
"stand up" and work for the betterment of the country and their
future.

MASERU 00000142 002.2 OF 002



--------------
The Public Responds
--------------


5. The former refugees also spoke on the Harvest FM current
affairs program "Rise and Shine" on Tuesday, May 5. Some of the
listeners lashed out at them for being ungrateful and also
accused them of wrongfully attacking the ABC leader. Callers on
"Rise and Shine" also claimed that the LCD is focused on
destabilizing the ABC. They argue that ABC rallies and press
events are never televised, but to their surprise, the press
conference convened by the three afore-mentioned men criticizing
Thabane, was aired on Lesotho Television, which is government
controlled and the only local television station, for more than
ten minutes.

--------------
Comment
--------------


6. Some local analysts felt that the three former refugees did
not offer anything substantial at the press conference.
Advocating leadership change in the ABC, the largest opposition
party, was a surprise to many people and has ignited rumors that
the governing Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) has bought
Thantsi, Tsatsanyane, and Motlomelo to discredit Thabane and
bring the party leadership into disrepute, which would clearly
benefit the LCD. Embassy sources are also astonished by the
claim made by the three that they never got any party support.
Sources argue that, every time the former refugees appeared in
court in South Africa, bus loads of ABC supporters from Lesotho
attended the proceedings to offer support. Some also pointed
out that ABC supporters also made financial contributions
towards the welfare of the refugees. Thabane has not yet
reacted to any of the statements made by the former asylum
seekers. Local observers and the general public are eager to
hear what he will say.
NOLAN