Thabane, minister clash
MASERU — Prime Minister Thomas Thabane and his Police Minister Mophato Monyake seem not to agree on how to handle the issue of Eyob Belay Asemie, a Mosotho businessman of Ethiopian origin.
Asemie was arrested on Sunday but was not charged.
On Monday the High Court ordered his release but the police refused.
Police Commissioner Kizito Mhlakaza, is now facing a contempt of court charge for refusing to release him as ordered by the High Court.
The police say Esemie, 34, escaped from police custody on Tuesday.
His lawyer however says as far as he knows Asemie is still in custody and only the police can know his whereabouts.
There now seems to be confusion in government on how Asemie’s case should be handled.
On Tuesday Monyake told MoAfrika FM radio station that Asemie should be re-arrested.
Monyake accused Asemie of “basking in too much comfort in this country that he seeks to have the police commissioner arrested”.
He said Asemie, together with Home Affairs officials who gave him citizenship documents, will be arrested and prosecuted.
But Thabane has a different take on how the matter should be handled.
He told the Lesotho Times, hours after Monyake’s radio interview, that court decisions should be respected.
If the police want to arrest Asemie they should wait until he commits another offence, Thabane said.
“As for now the High Court has ordered that he should be released and the government has the responsibility to ensure that that order is respected,” Thabane said.
“The arm of the court is the police and if the arm cannot work for its owner there is something seriously wrong with that arm.
“When I deal with this matter it should not be seen as a minister against a certain police officer. It is our responsibility as a nation to give the courts the respect they deserve.”
The premier said he did not understand when the police decided it was right to disobey the courts.
“There were no such incidents when I was the minister of police and I don’t know whether in my absence from government the police developed this attitude towards the courts. If anybody comes hauling such things from the past government, they will have to stop.”
Without democracy and rule of law the country will be ungovernable, Thabane added.
Comment by noto on 16 August 2012:
basotho ha re ke re ntseng bolisana ka lihloohong re sebetseng ka molao
Comment by mju on 16 August 2012:
Fire the bloody Minister. O tla u tlontlolla.
Comment by semenekane on 16 August 2012:
Bro Tom ke lumellana le uena tabeng ena. Mapolesa a hlomphe litaelo tsa Makhotla hosa tsotellehe hore maemo ke a feng.
Ke nako joale ea hore Sepolesa sa rona se itlhatlhobe hantle se etse mosebetsi o tsoileng matsoho feela se ntse se hlompha litokelo tsa mantlha tsa botho le litaelo tsa makhotla.
Leha-holejoalo, Asemie ho sebelletsoe hore a tsamae a boele ha habo Ethopia. O tloela batho ba baholo hampe e bile o nahana e ka o hloho e kholo.
Haho thakholoe liphuputso hore o fumane pasa ea Lesotho joang empa rona re sa li fumane?. Haeba a e fumane ka bolotsana, a qoselletsoe le batho ba mofileng eona a nt’o romeloa Ithopia. Re tennoe ke Asemie oa tseba? Khiliki!
Comment by mhs on 16 August 2012:
@mju, that minister my friend gave lots of money to abc in 2007 and 2012 campaign. So yena ya hore he must get fired forget about it. Ur boss big thomas is saving face as usual, he gives direction then when its not good for him he saves himself and leaves monyake to the dogs. What the minister did is clearly the directions of the big pm, bcoz at the press conference he said he would deport the ethiopian man, the man hadn’t even been to court or no charges had been pressed. I’m not saying he is innocent bt what happened to innocent till proven guilty. Ur boy thomas said he must go into hiding. That wasn’t an idle threat, if they courts had said he is guilty then I would understand why he would say such a thing bt now they said that a few weeks ago and now the man has apparently fled the jail. He has gone into “hiding” I wonder if we will see him again. I highly doubt it. Welcome to the big leagues coalition
Comment by Francis on 16 August 2012:
I think everything concerning this guy remains allegations. The court must be respected regardless. The Police has the right to contest the court’s decision. I am sure its not cheap to get a judge to leave the comfort of his house and family on a Sunday to go to work. Eyob should enjoy his human rights like anyone else until proven guilty.
Comment by tlotlisang on 16 August 2012:
This guys are under pressure to report good news to their faithfools after 14days which turned into 100days. I agree, Monyake was instructed by PM. We infer this from his sayings on the press conference. I am not surprised with Thabane’s rule, police stat! His police and army is out infringing people’s human rights in the name the fight to crime. You do not short and kill criminals suspects like you did to the likes of makhoathi and others in democracy. You investigate and charge them in the courts of law and jail them when found guilty! That is what PM used to do while he was a minister for police and he will continue and some idiots will say he is working.
Comment by mokonkoana on 16 August 2012:
“If the police want to arrest Asemie they should wait for him to commit another offence”
Motho eeoo o thothomelloa tjee molato? this is one of the kotsiest men in Lesotho Hmn trfckng is his core bsnss….
The police have a point jwale o qetella ka ho balea litlamong…
Comment by Moeletsi on 16 August 2012:
Bro Tom, is spot on. O re, “haeba motho enoa a na le litlolo tsa molao tseo a li entseng’ ha a so re motho a lelekoe ntle le tataiso ea molao. Letona lona ha kea mamela taba tsa lona, empa a ke ke a bua joalo ka motho ea tsoang ka mokoting feela tjena a re motho a ts’oaroe. Lesotho mona molao o teng, o sebetsang hantle.
Setloli sa molao sea ts’oaroa, joale letona le kare motho a ts’oaroe joang ho se tlolo ea molao e tlalehuoeng? Kannete Ntate Monyake haeba ke taba tsa hau, ke se ke belaela hore u sebetsa litaba ka sefuba e seng kelello, qamaka Ntate, sepolesa sa hau se tla u fa kantle ho letsoho ebe ua oela.
Haeba Asemie o tlotse molao, ha a qosoe, ts’ebetso tsa makhotla ha li mo fumana a le molato, ho etsoe qeto ho latela tlolo ea molao eo a fumanoeng a le molato ka eona, e seng ho hong.
Comment by LEKHOARA on 16 August 2012:
Minister of Police, batla boeletsi ba molao hapa o nahanise/batlisise taba hantle pele o bua, or else o tla iphumana o le ka moo thakali e fatelang ka teng…o seke oa nkoa ke maikutlo…
Comment by Lefefooane on 16 August 2012:
Who the hell is this Ethiopian to such an extent that he seeks to have our police commissioner arrested? Nxa. Ke tla lekeha eh!! Ke mang na eena Arsine eo? He banna nthoena re tlamreha ho e fenetha as soon as yesterday. La re luba letiopia la satanist. Nxa. O ne a tsoa kae ha tla fihla moo moo re seng re sitoa ho mo isa teng? That Arsene mus t be eliminated as soon as possible.
Comment by mhs on 16 August 2012:
@lefefooane, were in the article did you see that they said the ethiopian seeked for the police commisioner to be arrested. His lawyer (knowing the law of the land) a mosotho man went to the high court (the highest law of the land) and asked for him to be released twice. Which commissioner declined, not on his own perogrative. Bt from the higher echelons of govt. Now the court has procedures buddy, and when they aren’t fulfilled this is what happens.
@moeletsi you just said you didn’t hear the ministers news but your first line is this is all allegations, now ur the one backing up the minister saying he wouldn’t say what he said. That is an allegation. Listen to mophatos news and act on that then tell me if its wrong or right
Comment by MK on 16 August 2012:
Mookameli oa sekolo sa koetliso ea Mapolesa ha etsa puo ha ho ne ho chesoa mophato maoba mona o itse mapolesa a rutoa ho amohela litaelo le ho li phethahatsa. ka puo eno motho oka ithuta hore koetliso ea sepolesa sa rona e hole le ho sereletsa sechaba.
Comment by kokota on 16 August 2012:
Asemi again. Why can’t police invvestigate this man and prosecute him fast? Ho hlakile ke senokoane nthoena
Comment by Coalition on 16 August 2012:
@mhs Coaliton Premier Right Honorable Thabane said if the Ethopian man has committed a crime, then he should run away as this government is lead by a person ho hates crime. seka siea part eno eeo Hon PM Thabane a itse a balehe HAEBA O ENTSE TLOLO EA MOLAO….hee mapotana ha le qete ho pota!
Comment by Motsollope on 16 August 2012:
halalala! ke polotiki! Ho se ho thoe ba hanang ho nka litaelo ba fetile le mekhoa e mebe eo ho tloha ‘musong o fetileng??? Taba eo ke ‘nete ha kae? Na Mhlakaza o ne a le teng pusong eo? moo ha ke tsebe.
Anyway, ‘na ke re ha re boneng na Mhlakaza o tla hle a tsoaroe!
Comment by litaba on 16 August 2012:
think a line should be drawn between a duty of a police officer and de intervention by de crts of law.de fact thre was an order directing police to release tt man and tt de order was served upon de relevant authorities,failure to act in accordance wth de said order meant tt de they were acting in contempt of crt.however,de fact there was an order for de release of tt prn did nt mean he can not be re-arrest again by de police if they had a suspicion tt he might hv committed a certain offence or could hv applied for further detention b4 competent crts of law.on conclusion,i agree wth de PM tt de police officer shud hv complied wth order or applied for further detention if there were any investigations pending b4 de charge could be made against him,reasons tt would give a suspicion tt he flee from de jurisdiction of our crts but on top of evrything those applications ought to hv bn made b4 an order for contempt could be made.
Comment by Limeme on 16 August 2012:
Bahlomphi!
Ha ke hanane le molao, molao ke molao o lokela ho hlonephuoa, Empa re Basotho hleng, banna monna eo o thothomelloa tjee hantle-ntle ho etsahalang ka eena le ‘Muso oa Lesotho? Hona le taba mona.
Lekhotla le boetse hape le laetse hore a katoe ke masole,bathong ba molimo hobaneng hona le batho ba ikemiselitseng ho senya naha ee ea Lesotho tjee bathong ba molimo.
Tsatla tsa re leka lipolotiki, fotsek joale bare lubisoa thankha
Comment by S'bongile on 16 August 2012:
Have you liquidated him. Where is he? where is he? Montsheng!
Comment by mju on 16 August 2012:
Mapolesa ana a rata ho inkela molao matsohong. H’a qale hona joale, khale e le bo-ralipolitiki. Tsena ke litholoana tsa bo-hana-puso. Makhooa a re, ‘the first cut is the deepest’. Khale ke bolela hore ho tla nka nako ho motho ea rutiloeng ho se hlonephe mosebetsi oa hae, le ho o etsa ke tsela e nepahetseng hore a khutlele temeng. Tsena ke litholoana tsa bohanayetsi bo sa aheng (destructive engagement). Li-champione tsa boits’oaro ba mofuta ona joale li pulufaletsoe ha li lokela ho kenya batho bana tseleng.
Comment by monatala on 16 August 2012:
moetatapele does talk like you ntate Tom. u approach this matter with integrity and respect, not only to court orders but also respect for individuals right
Comment by silky on 16 August 2012:
Hantle ke taba tse joang tse tholang attention ea Hon. PM? we have burning issues kantle ka mona!
Comment by Selomo on 16 August 2012:
Bravo PM!
“The arrest and charging of offenders in Lesotho are the primary functions of the police; their ultimate prosecution rests with the Director of Public Prosecutions (Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act of 1981). It is important to note here that prosecution of offenders is under the discretion of the Director of Public Prosecutions who however cannot prosecute if the police have not investigated the case, arrested and charged the suspects”. Justice Mahapela Lehohla, 17 January 2003.
Politicians should not interfere in criminal investigations and prosecutions! Even if it’s at the risk of being accused of being an accomplice in the murder of your best friend and your beloved son.
Comment by kekesiwe on 16 August 2012:
Ke nako joale ea hore re tsebe se nepahetseng le se fosahetseng ka mora nako e telele ho iketsetsoa lintho feela Lesotho mona.
mosebetsi oa makhotla joale e tla ba ofe ha eba joale u se u nkoa ke sepolesa?
Ntate Thabane is 100% RIGHT.
Comment by Ea ratang khotso on 16 August 2012:
Asemie Asemie Asemie! Sis Asemie. You shud be ashamed whereever you are you bastard. Lesotho mona hantle ha se haeno. Khutlela haeno monna u holile, le balimo ba hau ba maketse ha ba sa u bone u hata mabala.
Comment by concerned citizen on 16 August 2012:
this is going to be a very interesting term of coalition government, the reason being i foresee a lot of cases involving state versus public. If the courts of law are kept independent the public will be victorious because the cases will just to settle the scores.e.g ethopian-mosotho issue, driver fired and moleleki’s case. Watchout for the outcomes unless new judges are appointed. Lets build the economy 1st.
Comment by tollong on 16 August 2012:
Lona le ntseng le bua ka rule of law I wish one of u can visit Ethopia and see if le ka thothomelloa joalo ka ha le batla hore monna enoa a thothomelloe,o balehileng ha habo koa? We’ve so much to deal with other than wasting our time on this boy who’s not even an inveter.
Comment by tollong on 16 August 2012:
Lona le ntseng le bua ka rule of law I wish one of u can visit Ethopia and see if le ka thothomelloa joalo ka ha le batla hore monna enoa a thothomelloe,o balehileng ha habo koa? We’ve so much to deal with other than wasting our time on this boy who’s not even an investor.
Comment by Stebo on 16 August 2012:
I do not know whether the PM has demanded a full report on this one before answering. I guess he should have demanded a report first. I really believe the Police have a different version of the story.
A piece of advise, Please the honorable PM don’t take the facts from the media and believe same to be the truth. For instance, I have read the three articles here dealing with this Ethiopian (he says he has not yet been sworn as a Lesotho national and so I hesitate to call him a Mosotho as this paper does) and nowhere have I seen the police side of the allegations against them nor any sign that such an attempt was made and was unsuccessful. So please sir.
Im sure a person of COMPOL’s calibre would not just ignore a court order just like that. Please ntate refrain from the media and only go to them with concrete information. I rest my case.
Comment by Lebo on 17 August 2012:
Bohle re libupuoa tsa morena Molimo. Re lokela ho hlomphuoa hohle moo re leng teng ho sa shejoe ‘mala, puo, le bolumeli ba motho. Empa moo motho a tlotseng molao o lokela ho qosoa a sa hobosoe ka ho tlosoa seriting sa botho e leng sa ea re bopileng. Ha se phoso ha ntate Asemie a rata ho phela naheng ea Lesotho. Hopolang hore lefatse ke la Jehovah le tsohle tse ho lona. Ke rona batho re le arotseng ka mabitso le ka merabe. Feela haele rona batho re entsoe ka ho tsoana.
Khotso ha e le atele Basotho baheso.
Comment by Oa Lihlaba on 17 August 2012:
E qhoaolotse kobo melata Lesotho mona. Kabo ea lipasa ho melata e sa le e le seboko sa Basotho. Haeba hona le taba ka pasa ea motopia/Mosotho enoa ha re fuoe ka letsohong ho tloheloe ho ferekangoa sechaba ka li court order le mapolesa. Feela ha ke bone hore na PM o fosa kae ha bonts’a hore molao o tlameha ho hlomphuoa ke bohle.
Comment by palesa on 17 August 2012:
hantle ho etsahalang ka le ethopia
Comment by Setshoana on 18 August 2012:
Lere ke mang?? Nxa!!! O re tloaela hampe kapa o jwetsitse ka Basotho ke bakhotsi bao ba hae ba mo fileng litokomane tsa Lesotho. Ekare o tla re kena menong Asene kapa ho thwe ke mang??? Nxa!!!
Comment by watchdog on 19 August 2012:
well done Thabane.you need to watch and deciplined power drunk officials whom think they are above the law,bcz they will distroy your image as a leader.
Comment by Lai Thekhe - Motho a oa on 20 August 2012:
Tona Kholo ea rona e tseba litaba tsa tsamaiso ea naha ka mekhoa e nepahetseng. Ekaba hantle le hofeta ha a ka hlaola lehola le ka sepoleseng pele lehola le mo koaela. U kile ou bona kae lefats’eng moo makhotla a linyeoe a nyelisoang feela tjee ke lihata milikhoana tsa mopolesa? Mhlakaza eo ena otsoa kae?