VZCZCXRO8819
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHRN
DE RUEHMR #0142/01 1271507
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071507Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4149
INFO RUCNSAD/SADC COLLECTIVE
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 4576

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000142 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/S, DS/IP/AF, DS/IP/ITA 
PRETORIA FOR DATT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PGOV LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO: FORMER POLITICAL REFUGEES GIVE PRESS CONFERENCE 
 
REF: A) 07 MASERU 398  B) 07 MASERU 385  C) MASERU 116 
 
MASERU 00000142  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  Three Lesotho nationals who fled Lesotho in July 2007 held a 
press conference on Monday, May 4, 2009, two months after their 
return to Lesotho from South Africa.  The LDF had detained the 
men in 2007 in connection with the search for army rifles which 
had been forcibly taken from military guards at ministerial 
residences (refs A & B).  Originally, six men fled Lesotho at 
different times after some of them were detained by the Lesotho 
Defense Force (LDF) and others fled fearing the army would 
detain them as well.  All six were part of opposition leader Tom 
Thabane's security team.  One died in exile, one remains in 
South Africa, and four have now returned to Lesotho.  At the 
press conference, the group informed the press corps about the 
ordeal they went through while in exile and stressed that they 
would be "staying out of politics" for some time to come. 
 
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Former asylum seekers promote ABC leadership change 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2.  Motlomelo Elias Motlomelo, Mokherane Tsatsanyane, and Thabo 
Thants'i convened a press conference on Monday, May 4, 2009 at 
the Roman Catholic church hall in Maseru. This was their first 
public appearance since their return to Lesotho in March 2009. 
The purpose of the press event was to notify the Basotho people 
that they are back in the country and express their gratitude to 
those who helped them when they were in exile in South Africa. 
They talked about the hardship they went through and took the 
opportunity to criticize Tom Thabane and the entire leadership 
of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) for not providing any 
assistance to them while they were in South Africa.  They 
claimed that they obtained political assistance through their 
own initiative without any help from their party.  Thants'i 
stated that his mother passed away while he was still in exile, 
and after his arrival in the country, he did get any support 
from the leadership of the ABC.  He expressed anger that there 
were no ABC representatives at his mother's funeral.  On behalf 
of the group, Tsatsanyane stated that they were still ABC 
members but they are no longer going to take part in active 
politics for some time, or until there is a change in the 
leadership of the party. 
 
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On "probation," though never charged with a crime 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶3.  Tsatsanyane pointed out that in their endeavor to exonerate 
themselves from the 2007 attacks on ministerial residences they 
contacted Commissioner of Police `Malejaka Letooane and her 
Assistant for Criminal Investigation Service (CIS) John Selete 
to inform them of their desire to come back to Lesotho and hand 
themselves over to the police.  According to the three men, the 
police agreed with their request and upon arrival they were 
questioned by police and released but no charges were filed 
against them.  Motlomelo expressed concern that they were 
accused of high treason in Lesotho but after they fled from 
Lesotho, the Lesotho authorities never made a formal request for 
their extradition, which he said illustrates that they were 
accused of crimes they did not commit.  He said they are 
required to report to the police every day except on Sundays 
even though they have never been charged with any crime. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Asylum seekers claim GOL using Lerotholi as scapegoat 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶4.  Tsatsanyane, although reluctant to elaborate, indicated that 
they will take some kind of legal action against the government 
for the suffering they went through.  They plan to do that once 
Makotoko Lerotholi (ref C) is back in Lesotho.  They were also 
adamant that reports from the police indicate that Lerotholi is 
still in South Africa and could not have been involved in the 
recent attempted assassination of the Prime Minister in Maseru. 
He added that even in the 2008 attacks on military and police 
vehicles, the police and the LDF claimed Lerotholi was seen but 
Tsatsanyane argued that the two were together in Johannesburg at 
the time and Lerotholi was ill.  He added that it was a pity 
that some people have chosen to use him as a scapegoat. 
Tsatsanyane said that the group should be left to live in peace, 
and urged authorities to investigate a lot of crimes which have 
remained unsolved, such as the killing of the Prime Minister's 
son in 2001 and the fatal shooting of the late BNP member, 
Bereng Sekhonyana, in 2006.  The three men concluded by pledging 
their allegiance to the King of Lesotho, and urging the youth to 
"stand up" and work for the betterment of the country and their 
future. 
 
MASERU 00000142  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
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The Public Responds 
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¶5.  The former refugees also spoke on the Harvest FM current 
affairs program "Rise and Shine" on Tuesday, May 5.  Some of the 
listeners lashed out at them for being ungrateful and also 
accused them of wrongfully attacking the ABC leader.  Callers on 
"Rise and Shine" also claimed that the LCD is focused on 
destabilizing the ABC.  They argue that ABC rallies and press 
events are never televised, but to their surprise, the press 
conference convened by the three afore-mentioned men criticizing 
Thabane, was aired on Lesotho Television, which is government 
controlled and the only local television station, for more than 
ten minutes. 
 
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Comment 
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¶6.  Some local analysts felt that the three former refugees did 
not offer anything substantial at the press conference. 
Advocating leadership change in the ABC, the largest opposition 
party, was a surprise to many people and has ignited rumors that 
the governing Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) has bought 
Thantsi, Tsatsanyane, and Motlomelo to discredit Thabane and 
bring the party leadership into disrepute, which would clearly 
benefit the LCD.  Embassy sources are also astonished by the 
claim made by the three that they never got any party support. 
Sources argue that, every time the former refugees appeared in 
court in South Africa, bus loads of ABC supporters from Lesotho 
attended the proceedings to offer support.  Some also pointed 
out that ABC supporters also made financial contributions 
towards the welfare of the refugees.  Thabane has not yet 
reacted to any of the statements made by the former asylum 
seekers.  Local observers and the general public are eager to 
hear what he will say. 
NOLAN