{"id":19101,"date":"2022-08-22T07:09:53","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T07:09:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires"},"modified":"2022-08-22T07:42:05","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T07:42:05","slug":"rfp-douses-fires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires","title":{"rendered":"RFP douses fires"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>THE Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) was thrown into a fire-fighting mode this week after disgruntled party members protested over the party\u2019s \u201cundemocratic practices\u201d in picking election candidates.<\/p>\n

The members who won primary elections to stand for the party in the October 7 general elections were however blocked by the party\u2019s leadership, torching protests by the grassroots supporters. The group says it now wants party leader, Sam Matekane, to explain the criteria used to pick election candidates.<\/p>\n

In defending the process, the RFP has argued that it picked the candidates on the basis of meritocracy insisting these were the best qualified candidates for the constituencies, an argument the group says lacks transparency.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the party\u2019s secretary general, Nthati Moorosi, announced the list of the chosen ones last week, scores of RFP members flocked the party offices demanding answers why their elected candidates were left out.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday morning, the RFP went all out to reassure the disgruntled members that they were still valued members of the party. thepost understands that the party held a counselling session with the group.<\/p>\n

However, a few hours later the group held a press conference in Maseru where they said even though they still supported the party all they wanted was transparency.<\/p>\n

The disgruntled members are \u2019Mampho Seutloali from Stadium Area, Monohi Ralentsoe from Makhaleng, Chopho Lekhoabane from Khafung, Morakane Monate from Hlotse, Kobeli Rethabile Letlailane from Lithoteng, Thabo Moloi from Machache, Mahali Phamotse from Matlakeng and \u2018Mamako Mohale-Lerata from Matelile.<\/p>\n

The group said Matekane should explain the criteria the party used to pick candidates. Earlier the party had said the candidates would be selected based on their educational backgrounds, business successes or other social achievements in their communities.<\/p>\n

Most of all these people Matekane left out have solid academic credentials and are successful in other sectors of society. Letlailane, reading their joint statement at the press conference, said they are demanding the document drafted by their leader while shortlisting the candidates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that these documents are the only ones that can end the outcry that is coming from members who elected us in the constituencies,\u201d Letlailane said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMembers are worried that the results do not have transparency. This has caused loss of members in some constituencies,\u201d he said, adding that some had already started re-joining parties they had defected from.<\/p>\n

He said they wanted Matekane to give them answers so that they could go back and convince members that all is still well in the party. He said the documents would allay the fears of the people in the party.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aim to help our party to stop losing members on account of this,\u201d he said. Letlailana got 28 votes but Matekane picked Siera Letsoela who got only 12 votes.<\/p>\n

Phamotse received a stunning 96 votes but the party picked a relatively unknown Kenny Ntoane who only got 10 votes. Letlailane said the RFP should be a beacon of transparency because many people had left their parties to join it because they were not transparent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people are asking the RFP to live by what it preaches.
\nHe stated that most of the candidates who won primary elections but were not chosen do not want to defect together with the people in the constituencies who have started defecting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aim to work hard to build this party, to get things right so that people do not leave,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said their other aim is to prove to the nation and the people that the results were transparent. Dr Phamotse said by asking for the criteria \u201cthe angry people will understand and stop defecting\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are helping by asking for accountability as there are some constituencies that have also launched similar complaints,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said there are 30 aggrieved candidates who won primaries but were not picked to stand in their constituencies. \u201cThey are not happy and we do not want them to leave,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Dr Phamotse said what makes matters worse is that members do not have the party constitution and they do not know if they have any legal basis to complain.<\/p>\n

The people, she said, base their decisions on democracy as they know it. \u201cWe are representing others who are also not happy, especially those who won the primary elections.<\/p>\n

\u201d The Stadium Area primary election winner, \u2019Mampho Seutloali, said the candidates have huge supporters behind them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are expecting to know what will be done as they voted for people and the party chose otherwise,\u201d Seutloali said. She stated that they had been negotiating with members not to defect. \u201cWe are telling our people that the RFP is still powerful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Matelile\u2019s Mohale-Lerata said they signed a document to be members, therefore, they have a right to speak on matters affecting the RFP. \u201cBut the constitution has not yet reached our constituencies,\u201d Mohale-Lerata said.<\/p>\n

A day earlier, Qacha\u2019s Nek constituency members stormed the party premises demanding answers over the party\u2019s undemocratic selection of candidates. The members who had traveled from Qacha\u2019s Nek to seek answers were not allowed to enter the office until around 4pm when a security guard finally let four of them in.<\/p>\n

One of their representatives, Kokolia Mosothoane, told thepost that the leader chose \u2019Maatang Chaka who lost the primary elections. \u201cWe demand to know how our leader picked this nobody, who stays in Maseru and knows nothing about us,\u201d Mosothoane said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not tolerate this,\u201d he said. The members left the offices without answers.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, the party co-founder Tlohang Sekhamane defended the party\u2019s stance at a rally in Qeme constituency. Sekhamane said change is a beautiful thing as it goes along with developments.<\/p>\n

\u201cChange is not delicious on some people\u2019s palates. We must embrace change,\u201d Sekhamane said. Sekhamane said Matekane has pointed out who should represent which constituency and \u201cpeople lash at him for that\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why Lesotho is a poor country because we do not want to do the right things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said Matekane is doing what he knows by changing the ways things have been done in the country in the past. He stated that Matekane wants to work with people he trusts the most.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thank you for allowing him to do so,\u201d he said. He said members \u201cshould change their old ways\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop believing that a parliament is an employment place where people go to eat with their families.<\/p>\n

\u201d He urged the members not to leave when unhappy because their party is doing this for their sake and the sake of the entire country.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Lesotho<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. THE Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) was thrown into a fire-fighting mode this week after disgruntled party members protested over the party\u2019s \u201cundemocratic practices\u201d in picking election candidates. The members who won primary elections to stand for the party in the October 7 general elections were however blocked by the party\u2019s leadership, torching […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":19100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,10,16],"tags":[233,246,1452,245],"class_list":["post-19101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-parties","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-lesotho","tag-election","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nRFP douses fires - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"THE Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) was thrown into a fire-fighting mode this week after disgruntled party members prote ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RFP douses fires\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"THE Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) was thrown into a fire-fighting mode this week after disgruntled party members prote ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lesotho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-22T07:09:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-22T07:42:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_17-63033333ac87a.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1536\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"RFP douses fires\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-22T07:09:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-22T07:42:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires\"},\"wordCount\":1108,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_17-63033333ac87a.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Lesotho\",\"election\",\"Lesotho\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"parties\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires\",\"name\":\"RFP douses fires - Lesotho\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_17-63033333ac87a.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-22T07:09:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-22T07:42:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"THE Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) was thrown into a fire-fighting mode this week after disgruntled party members prote ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_17-63033333ac87a.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_17-63033333ac87a.jpg\",\"width\":1536,\"height\":1024,\"caption\":\"RFP douses fires\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"RFP douses fires\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/\",\"name\":\"Lesotho\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"RFP douses fires - Lesotho","description":"THE Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) was thrown into a fire-fighting mode this week after disgruntled party members prote ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"RFP douses fires","og_description":"THE Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) was thrown into a fire-fighting mode this week after disgruntled party members prote ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires","og_site_name":"Lesotho","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2022-08-22T07:09:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-22T07:42:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1536,"height":1024,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_17-63033333ac87a.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"RFP douses fires","datePublished":"2022-08-22T07:09:53+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-22T07:42:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires"},"wordCount":1108,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_17-63033333ac87a.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Lesotho","election","Lesotho"],"articleSection":["all news","homepage-english","parties","twitter"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires","name":"RFP douses fires - Lesotho","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_17-63033333ac87a.jpg","datePublished":"2022-08-22T07:09:53+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-22T07:42:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"THE Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) was thrown into a fire-fighting mode this week after disgruntled party members prote ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_17-63033333ac87a.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_17-63033333ac87a.jpg","width":1536,"height":1024,"caption":"RFP douses fires"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/rfp-douses-fires#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"RFP douses fires"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/","name":"Lesotho","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19101\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}