{"id":32147,"date":"2023-08-04T09:19:22","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T09:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft"},"modified":"2023-08-04T09:52:15","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T09:52:15","slug":"angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft","title":{"rendered":"Angry IEC official threatens to use witchcraft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>Incensed by relentless bickering at the electoral supervisory body, a top Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) official has threatened to deal with colleagues plotting his downfall \u201clike a Mosotho man\u201d \u2013 by consulting a traditional healer.<\/p>\n

IEC acting director of elections, Lebohang Bulane, yesterday threatened to strike back at his enemies, especially those backstabbing him. The bristling Bulane\u2019s ire was raised after someone vandalised his official car in the IEC parking lot.<\/p>\n

This seems to have spooked Bulane who has vowed to get even, by fair or foul means. Bulane told Public Eye at IEC headquarters that all sorts of \u201ccoup d\u2019e\u0301tat activities\u201d were underway in the organisation as some officers were actively plotting against him.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn Wednesday evening I found my official car\u2019s three tyres deflated. This was an inside job because the car was parked in the IEC parking lot.<\/p>\n

I did not report the matter to the police; I will deal with it my way, like a Mosotho man. I will go to a traditional doctor. \u201cThere were some two thugs who stole my private car. One is dead now as we speak while the other one has a mental disorder. The same will happen to the people who deflated my car\u2019s tyres,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

This bizarre threat comes in the midst of an impasse between three IEC commissioners who are hard-pressed to explain why they are still at the commission when their contracts expired in January, and the government.<\/p>\n

The three commissioners; chairperson Justice Mahapela Lehohla, Dr Makase Nyaphisi and Advocate \u2019Mamosebi Pholo; came under the spotlight in early March when they abruptly suspended IEC director of elections, Dr Letholetseng Ntsike, for alleged insubordination.<\/p>\n

Ntsike was suspended after she refused to obey orders to pay their benefits. She reportedly told the trio to produce new contracts or letters from the appointing authority endorsing their continued stay in office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was on leave when Dr Ntsike was suspended, and the commission talked to the human resources manager Mr Jobo Rampeta to act in that position, but he allegedly indicated that he could not.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe commissioners then appointed me, but I am convinced now that there are some people who are against my appointment,\u201d Bulane told Public Eye.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to the IEC\u2019s sequential hierarchy, we have the commissioners, then the director of elections, information technology manager \u2013 which is myself substantively, chief legal officer, human resources manager, civic and voter education manager, manager electoral operations, finance manager and finally logistics manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of the seniority system, when the director of elections is absent, the IT manager can act in that position or human resource manager can act if both director and IT manager are absent.<\/p>\n

This means my appointment is above board because I am the most senior manager after the director,\u201d he added. However, according to Bulane, some of his colleagues were unhappy with his appointment and launched a spirited campaign to block his ascendancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot say which ministries they went to, to block my appointment but they went to several ministries.<\/p>\n

Their misplaced argument is that the commissioners\u2019 contracts have expired and therefore do not have powers to appoint me to act. Very unfortunately some government officials have bought into this story.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven some junior IEC officers have bought into this story and one of the junior officers who works in the public relations office went to a local radio station to say the commissioners do not have power to appoint (me).<\/p>\n

It was even a hassle to get an official car but eventually I got one,\u201d narrated Bulane. In March, government secretary Moahloli Mphaka told Public Eye that IEC chairperson Lehohla was \u201cpathetic\u201d for refusing to leave office even after his contract had expired. Lehohla, in turn, said Mphaka was a loose cannon instigating mutiny at the IEC with his \u201creckless public statements\u201d.<\/p>\n

Local rights group, Transformation Resource Centre (TRC) yesterday said it had observed \u201cwith shock\u201d the impasse between the IEC commissioners and the government \u201cwhich has recently spilled into the courts of law, wherein the commissioners seek five years\u2019 contract renewals\u201d.<\/p>\n

TRC human rights officer Advocate Lepeli Moeketsi told reporters that prior to the expiry of their contracts, the commissioners had made a written submission seeking extension of their tenure for a further five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, their contracts were not renewed until they expired while they remained in office.<\/p>\n

The lack of renewed contracts led to their salaries being withheld by the director of elections and this in turn led to the commissioners suspending her. This chain of events leaves many questions:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did the government allow the commissioners\u2019 contracts to come to an end without making a decision on whether to renew or vacate office? The inability of the government to act on such a critical matter has ultimately led to such a predicament,\u201d Moeketsi said.<\/p>\n

Bulane explained to this paper that he was yet to receive a letter officially appointing him in the interim, as the process had allegedly been frustrated by some senior officers working in tandem with some disgruntled junior officers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have launched a smear campaign against the IEC claiming that there is a network shut down here, which is a lie.<\/p>\n

They are claiming that IEC cannot even pay salaries and cars are not fuelled. They are trying by all means to depict a picture of chaos at IEC. \u201cTo every action there is reaction.<\/p>\n

Those loose cannons will be dealt with accordingly. \u201cBut I want to assure Basotho that everything is in order and under control in IEC. The majority of the employees are committed to serve Basotho and their nation.<\/p>\n

It is only a few who are spreading lies about this organisation,\u201d he concluded. \u201d The IEC is a creature of the constitution, established to manage elections independent of political players and government. It, among others, conducts elections to the national assembly, local government councils and undertakes and promotes research into electoral matters.<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – Lesotho. Incensed by relentless bickering at the electoral supervisory body, a top Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) official has threatened to deal with colleagues plotting his downfall \u201clike a Mosotho man\u201d \u2013 by consulting a traditional healer. IEC acting director of elections, Lebohang Bulane, yesterday threatened to strike back at his enemies, especially those […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":32146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,246,1282,245],"class_list":["post-32147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-lesotho","tag-electoral","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nAngry IEC official threatens to use witchcraft - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Incensed by relentless bickering at the electoral supervisory body, a top Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officia ...\" \/>\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\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Angry IEC official threatens to use witchcraft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Incensed by relentless bickering at the electoral supervisory body, a top Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officia ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft\" \/>\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=\"2023-08-04T09:19:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-04T09:52:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/08\/sm_1691129970.777313.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"392\" \/>\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\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Angry IEC official threatens to use witchcraft\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-04T09:19:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-04T09:52:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft\"},\"wordCount\":1011,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/08\/sm_1691129970.777313.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Lesotho\",\"Electoral\",\"Lesotho\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft\",\"name\":\"Angry IEC official threatens to use witchcraft - Lesotho\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/08\/sm_1691129970.777313.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-04T09:19:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-04T09:52:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Incensed by relentless bickering at the electoral supervisory body, a top Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officia ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/08\/sm_1691129970.777313.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/08\/sm_1691129970.777313.jpg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":392,\"caption\":\"Angry IEC official threatens to use witchcraft\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Angry IEC official threatens to use witchcraft\"}]},{\"@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":"Angry IEC official threatens to use witchcraft - Lesotho","description":"Incensed by relentless bickering at the electoral supervisory body, a top Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officia ...","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\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Angry IEC official threatens to use witchcraft","og_description":"Incensed by relentless bickering at the electoral supervisory body, a top Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officia ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft","og_site_name":"Lesotho","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2023-08-04T09:19:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-08-04T09:52:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":392,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/08\/sm_1691129970.777313.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\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Angry IEC official threatens to use witchcraft","datePublished":"2023-08-04T09:19:22+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-04T09:52:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft"},"wordCount":1011,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/08\/sm_1691129970.777313.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Lesotho","Electoral","Lesotho"],"articleSection":["all news","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft","name":"Angry IEC official threatens to use witchcraft - Lesotho","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/08\/sm_1691129970.777313.jpg","datePublished":"2023-08-04T09:19:22+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-04T09:52:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Incensed by relentless bickering at the electoral supervisory body, a top Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officia ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/08\/sm_1691129970.777313.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2023\/08\/sm_1691129970.777313.jpg","width":600,"height":392,"caption":"Angry IEC official threatens to use witchcraft"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/angry-iec-official-threatens-to-use-witchcraft#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Angry IEC official threatens to use witchcraft"}]},{"@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\/32147","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=32147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}