{"id":32534,"date":"2023-08-14T09:49:20","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T09:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/former-minister-lehana-dies"},"modified":"2023-08-14T10:35:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T10:35:00","slug":"former-minister-lehana-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/former-minister-lehana-dies","title":{"rendered":"Former minister Lehana dies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span>FORMER Minister of Local Government and Chieftainship Affairs, Habofanoe Lehana, 63, has died. Lehana died on Sunday night at his home in Mahlatsa, Ha-Lehana, in Berea district.<\/p>\n

He was asthmatic. His wife, \u2019Malefeela Lehana, told thepost this week that her husband had been battling asthma for a very long time. She however said at the time when he died, he did not show any \u201csigns of asthma\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe became ill and died within a short space of time,\u201d she said. Lehana is survived by his wife and two adult children. His parents are still alive. His father is 93 while his mother is 83.<\/p>\n

Lehana came to the political limelight around 2014 when he began preparing for the 2015 elections under the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party led by Thomas Thabane.<\/p>\n

He went on to win the Khafung constituency under the ABC. Two years later, he also contested for the same seat which he retained in the 2017 elections.<\/p>\n

He was then appointed Minister of Local Government and Chieftainship Affairs under the Thabane premiership. He was later appointed Minister of Law and Justice.<\/p>\n

He also led the Ministry of Trade and Industry. \u201cHe died a staunch ABC supporter,\u201d \u2019Malefeela Lehana said. Lehana was well known in the constituency for assisting bereaved families.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe forked money out of his own pocket to help families bury their loved ones,\u201d \u2019Malefeela said. Alongside his job as an MP and subsequently a minister, Lehana was a seasoned farmer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe would enter into sharecropping deals with people who did not have the means to till their land,\u201d his widow recalled.<\/p>\n

\u2019Malefeela said her husband was \u201cunafraid to roll up his sleeves to interact with nature to earn a living\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe died a farmer,\u201d she said. Lehana was also an avid tennis player. He played tennis to freshen up his mind, \u2019Malefeela said.<\/p>\n

The Principal Chief of Koeneng and Mosalemane, Lesaoana Peete, said he knew Lehana as a peace-loving person. Chief Peete said many people become power-drunk when they are appointed ministers.<\/p>\n

The late Lehana was an exception, he said. Chief Peete said many people would be approachable while canvassing the elections but once they get into power they completely forget about the people who put them there.<\/p>\n

\u201cNtate Lehana was an exception because he did not stay in Maseru,\u201d Chief Peete said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was driven from his home to Maseru while a minister,\u201d he said. He said they always discussed a lot of projects with Lehana about development projects for Mapoteng.<\/p>\n

He said the early collapse of the ABC-led government interrupted their development plans. \u201cThe deceased respected governance and the (institution of the) chieftainship,\u201d Chief Peete said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can write a book about him,\u201d he said. He said Lehana was always attached to the people, something that many MPs do not do.<\/p>\n

Lehana was also passionate about implementing gender-sensitive policies that give women and men equal rights with regard to ownership and control of land.<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – Lesotho. FORMER Minister of Local Government and Chieftainship Affairs, Habofanoe Lehana, 63, has died. Lehana died on Sunday night at his home in Mahlatsa, Ha-Lehana, in Berea district. He was asthmatic. His wife, \u2019Malefeela Lehana, told thepost this week that her husband had been battling asthma for a very long time. She however […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":32533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[233,246,424,245],"class_list":["post-32534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-lesotho","tag-government","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer minister Lehana dies - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"FORMER Minister of Local Government and Chieftainship Affairs, Habofanoe Lehana, 63, has died. 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