Africa-Press – Lesotho. FIVE members of the Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) have given the party an ultimatum to reverse its “undemocratic” selection of election candidates or they will sue. The five wrote to the party this week through their lawyers, Tšabeha and Associates, threatening to take the RFP to court if it refuses to budge.
The members stormed to victory in primary elections held last month but the party leadership went on to handpick candidates who will now stand in the October 7 general election.
The five are Moloi Ralentsoe from Makhaleng, Kobeli Letlailana from Lithoteng, Matlotlo Ramaboli from Mechechane, Tšepo Joseph Lethobane from Thaba-Putsoa and Lejone Puseletso from Thaba Moea.
“Clients inform us that despite winning the said primary elections that were held on 10 July 2022 their names have been substituted by the party with other individuals,” the letter reads.
Ralentsoe was replaced by Motjoka Toloane, Letlailana was replaced by Lebohang Letsoela, and Ramaboli was replaced by Tumo Molefe. Lethobane was substituted by Sherif Mothopeng while Puseletso was replaced by Pokello Mahlomola.
They said despite their request to have the matter resolved peacefully their pleas had fallen on deaf ears. They said they want the list of nominees to reflect the primary election results and not the arbitrary misuse of power by the executive committee.
“It is our client’s case that the executive committee or any structure within the RFP does not have the power to substitute the names of the nominees who won the elections freely and fairly,” the letter reads.
“We expect your response by close of business on Friday the 19th August 2022 failing which we shall be left with no option but to approach the courts of law for appropriate redress.
In what could be a clear case of confusion within the RFP, the party’s supporters in Thaba-Putsoa are backing Mothopeng who was handpicked by the leadership.
A group of the party’s supporters drove to the RFP’s head office to show their support for Mothopeng. Mothopeng lost to Lethobane in the primary elections.
One of the supporters, Monaheng Mothae, told thepost that they were not happy that the party had bowed to pressure and installed Lethobane as the party’s candidate.
Mothae said they were told last week that Mothopeng would no longer represent them as initially mentioned. “They said they will look for another position for him in the executive and we oppose that,” Mothae said.
He also complained that their party leadership is making a lot of crucial decisions without consulting them as members at the constituency level. “We should be involved,” he said.
“They should not just approach the candidate without us.
” He said they want Mothopeng as he is educated and knows the constituency very well. The leadership, bowing to the people’s pressure, then picked Mothopeng again and now Lethobane is threatening to sue.
In Khubetsoane constituency Peter Morolong has also written to the party telling it that he will represent the constituency. Morolong, who came third during the primaries, was handpicked by the leadership only to be told later that he would be deployed somewhere else and he should withdraw his candidacy.
He has rejected the party’s directive. “I will continue as the candidate for Khubetsoana, the RFP members say they also need my competency at the constituency level,” Morolong said.
He stated that they did a lot of work from day one after the formation of the RFP. “We spent a lot of resources to market the RFP,” he said. He also stated that they strongly believe that they are in the right space to win the elections.
“Any change at this stage will cause severe consequences and is not in the best interest of the party.
” The leadership had told him that they liked his skills and no longer wanted him as a candidate in Khubetsoana as previously said. The leadership wants to redeploy him at the executive level as the party is establishing a think-tank that will generate policies for the party.
RFP leader Sam Matekane told a rally in Butha-Buthe on Sunday that they are not ashamed of their decision to ask for only four candidates from the primaries so that he could select qualifying constituency candidates from them.
“We made that decision after realising that Lesotho is going nowhere despite its 50 years of independence,” Matekane said.
“We decided to change the type of politics because the country has been going down,” he said. He added that they felt bad as businessmen that their country is stuck in the mud and “we then decided to join politics”.
“The way the primary elections have been done was wrong, it failed to work for the past 50 years,” he said.
Matekane said they believe that the right way to choose candidates is sitting down and doing interviews so that they choose the best candidate to go to parliament. He said those he has not picked should not run away because “your party needs you so badly to deliver services all over the country”.
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