Africa-Press – Lesotho. Following a move to recall her from the London Mission of Lesotho, the High Commissioner Rethabile ‘Mahlompho Mokaeane lodged an urgent court application petitioning
the court to stay the move to which it had granted her prayers. The High Court on August 26th declared that the recall of the petitioner is “null and void ab initio [from the beginning]
for violating the rules of natural justice in that the applicant was not given a hearing prior to her recall”. The court stayed the applicant saying she should “enjoy all the rights, privileges and benefits
attaching her to her position pending finalization of this application”. It also ordered that the applicant be “granted further and alternative relief” and that she be
granted costs of the lawsuit. “A rule nisi be and it is hereby issued and returnable on the 30th August 2021 calling upon the respondents to show cause (if any) why, an order in these terms shall not
be made absolute,” reads the interim court order. The applicant is Mokaeane and the respondents are: Principal Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Ministry of Public Service and the
Attorney General being the first to third respondents respectively. On August 18, the PS Thabo Motoko wrote a letter to Mokaeane recalling her from the mission.
The correspondence which Informative Newspaper saw reads: “Kindly be informed that a decision is reached to recall you from the High Commission –London back to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and International Relations to assume full duties and responsibilities of Resident Ambassador, Grade K, with effect from the 1st September 2021.
” Also the former Deputy Minister of Gender, Youth, Sports and Recreation, Mokaeane had previously asked
the then PS of foreign affairs retired Colonel Tanki Mothae to intervene in the state of affairs of the London mission. The High Commissioner has had a run in
with the staff at the mission over the funds usage and had previously frowned at the practice wherein she alleges that the Ministry communicates with her
junior staff instead of her, contrary to what the protocol dictates. Earlier this year the parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) held the hearings involving the
alleged mismanagements of funds wherein the mission was reported to have failed to pay the tuition fees of some of the envoys children. The UK High Commissioner had recently been cleared of alleged misconduct by the disciplinary
committee which was investigating her conduct. Meanwhile, there is a clip making rounds which this publication understands to be Mokaeane and the mission third Secretary ‘Mantolo Motloheloa at loggerheads over the signing off
of the funds in that mission. It is not clear at this stage if the Ministry will file a notice of intention to oppose as the attempts to solicit a reaction from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Relations proved futile as the PS did not pick our calls, neither did he respond to the WhatsApp texts sent to him by this publication. The petitioner is represented by Advocate M. A Molise and the defence lawyer for all respondents is Advocate L. Tau. The case is before Judge ‘Maseforo Mahase.
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