Nothing special about Moleleki’s orphanage
THABA-BOSIU — About 50 kilometres south of the capital Maseru lies a small orphanage named Lesiba Children’s Home.
The orphanage is located in Ha-Ranye, in Maseru’s rural district.
Outside on the wire rail are worn out face towels and soiled children’s underwear.
Inside the yard are three houses, two decent block houses and a hut.
This is the orphanage that has been at the centre of a fierce court dispute involving former natural resources minister Monyane Moleleki.
The orphanage is currently home to about 48 children aged between six and 14.
As we enter the complex we are met with two women who are sitting on a wooden bench, preparing a meal.
In the kitchen on a custom-built gas stove are boiling pots as they prepare a big meal for lunch.
There is also a table with a pile of plastic plates and other basic kitchen utensils.
We are welcomed inside the home.
Our visit is however suddenly cut short after we mentioned who we are and our purpose.
With all the controversy surrounding the orphanage and the freezing of the orphanage’s bank accounts, we thought it best to hear from the officials manning the complex about their challenges.
Maseru magistrate ’Makopano Taole two weeks ago ordered that four First National Bank (FNB) accounts belonging to Moleleki be frozen to allow investigations by the Police Counter Crime Unit.
Lebeoana Letsie, the crown director of litigation, said the accounts had M38 000, over M40 000, M500 000 and M2.8 million.
The account holding M500 000 was unblocked after Moleleki filed an application that the accounts be unfrozen so he could take care of the orphans.
“We cannot talk to you about that,” answers a visibly annoyed woman who had a few minutes earlier welcomed us inside the kitchen.
“Why don’t you want to talk to us,” we ask as the article would be a positive one for the orphanage.
That question however seemed to provoke more anger in her, judging by the tone of her voice.
“That is a personal question,” she says.
Sensing that we are no longer welcome we bid farewell and quickly leave.
Although our visit was short-lived it was enough to deduce a few things about the orphanage.
First, that the orphanage was an ordinary home for children.
Second that it is a far cry from what its founder had imagined as portrayed on the orphanage’s colourful website.
The Monyane Moleleki Foundation website, www.molelekifoundation.org.ls had big dreams for the children.
“By September 2011 a young girl at the Lesiba Children’s Home will be learning how to play the alto saxophone, or the violin, or the piano; or the double base; or the clarinet; or the cello . . . Our little boys will be doing the same. Boys will also be learning how to play the “lesiba” Look carefully: “lesiba” is a Sesotho word for “quill”,” reads the site that promises a better life for Machache orphans and destitute children.
“Here in Lesotho before independence “lesiba” was used to denote “pen”. That is on the one hand. On the other hand “lesiba” is also a traditional musical instrument of Lesotho.
So the name “Lesiba Children’s Home” is a play on these two meanings of the word “lesiba”.
“It means that at the Home the children will learn how to read and write (as you would do with the quill), as well as to musically learn the national traditional instrument, the “lesiba” and, of course, all the other instruments of Lesotho like no other person in Lesotho.
They will learn even how to tune to the classical musical instruments and play it as part of the western type classical orchestra! Fun? You bet! “Great fun!” says the website.
But according villagers who spoke to the Lesotho Times yesterday there seem to be little fun at the orphanage.
“The children might have a roof over their head and might not worry about what they will eat but there is nothing exciting about their lives,” ‘Malefu Lesia said.
“Yes they have school uniforms and shoes but they still go to the same schools as the other children.”
She adds that the orphanage is yet to assist orphans from the village of Ha-Ranye where it is situated.
“There are orphans here who desperately need help. Yet they have not been taken in at the orphanage. Most of the children who are living there now are not well known to most of us because they are from outer villages,” she says.
But the orphanage appears to have great plans for the orphans, if the promises on the website are to be believed.
“Later the orphanage will have a full primary school of its own. This school will be a model school for Lesotho. It will offer all normal subjects. It is planned to be an English Medium Primary School. But, over and above that, it will specialise in the teaching of Classical Music.
“Of course our children are all Basotho children. Needless to say their school will also teach them all traditional dances and the playing of all the normal traditional musical instruments. Chief among the traditional instruments that will be
taught at this school is the “lesiba”.”
Thabo Lesuoa says until the orphanage takes poor children from their village they will not be happy.
“We still have children who are very poor and need help in the village. We have heard that they had promised to take them but they haven’t.
“Until those children are taken in we will not know its relevance for us,” Lesuoa says.
Several attempts to get Moleleki to comment were unsuccessful yesterday.
Comment by semenekane on 23 August 2012:
Mesebetsi ea Li- Mafia lehae hale hlamtsehe joalo kaha le hlalosoa websiteng. Chehe! Mahaletere o pale hle. Khiliki! Khale u re otlanya monna heso
Comment by mooa khootla on 23 August 2012:
Le ne le batla ebe joang ? Ha le etse ea lona ke eng? Ba bang ba lona ke boikarabello ba lona ho phelisa likhutsana tseo joaloa ka ha e le tse tsoang malapeng a bo lona, feela o utloa batho ba hobosang boemo ba eona. Etsang ea lona e majaba-jaba hee Ntsebeng ..
Comment by pit on 23 August 2012:
Na banna ke mooa khotla oa mehleng ena oe, questions are being raised about the legitimacy of this orphanage being linked to such huge sums of money. Questions need to be asked about the running of the orphanage as issues regarding the future of funding needy kids all over the country, issues to do with the tax act being undermined need to be answered. The stories about this orphanage has jeopardized funding for countless other orphanage, yes I know of orphanages in my home district which have last week lost out a big funder because of questions raised because of issues regarding lesiba funding and rightly so. People keep crying about likhutsana tsa lesiba, likhutsana tsabo rona tsona hase likhutsana ??!!!!
Comment by tlotlisang on 23 August 2012:
Pit! U leshano le nkhang. How Mokola’s orphanage saga prevents the funds for other orphanages? That whoever who said he could not fund your orphanage due to Mokola’s unfortunate attack by jealous people, was ashamed to tell you that he could not fund you. Hard luck, next time be smart when you look for funding.
Comment by Tebang on 23 August 2012:
Ho etsa hanyane ha ho tsoane le ho bua fela.good work Moleleki
Comment by Mafelekoana on 23 August 2012:
Le ‘na ke re good work Moleleki. Hantle batho ba ne ba re orphanage eeo e be shiny kapa joang? Oprah Winfry sort of? Tlohelang mona hleng Basotho ting, le moo Basotho ba ha bo lona ba ntseng ba iteka. Ka ‘nete mona shame on you.
Comment by Lefefooane on 23 August 2012:
So Moleleki has over R million to spent on ophans? Assuming that is 1o% of his wealth then maybe this mahaltere guy could be worth a coupler millions. Wow. He oa iketla monna enoa ea litelu li makhethe. I have a strong feeling that the four accounts for one orphanage in one bank should be called the 4-1-1-1 scam. Four accounts, one orphanage, one bank, one signatory. It is very interesting how an opharnage can operate four accounts in one bank. Very very interesting. An orphanage with four accounts in one bank. Butleng bontate. I think this was a very scandalous money laundering scam called 4-1-1-1. We need the transcripts of all the amounts of money and transactions that passed through those four accounts. Surely those 4 accounts in the 4 triple 1 scam were used to “clean” the dirty money. There can never be any explanation why the orphanage has four accounts with one bank. We need a further investigations and revelations regarding the transactions history of these accounts in the 4 triple 1 scam. From the day each account was opened we need the deposits , transfers and withdrawals and dates. Then we will make our minds.
Comment by chehe on 23 August 2012:
Le eena o e entse pale, e teng orphanage e ka ruoang hakaalo! Kea bona motho ha a bolile le kello ea fofotsa, win MOLELEKI!
Comment by pit on 23 August 2012:
@Tlotlisang,I don’t own an opharnage but I know that an opharnage I know has been told a review of funding mechanisms and operational matters is underway and will not be receiving funding until further notice. Haeba ke leshano tsamaea oee any opharnage u know and ask how the lesiba opharnage saga has affected them. Then okhutle onjoetse ke leshano le nkhang…..
Comment by Ke koatile on 23 August 2012:
ha re tlohelleng ho roakana he Tlotlisang re bueng litaba. he le joale u rata lithlapa Tlotlisang, ha ke u tsebe but ua bont’sa hore u le potoana hantle. ache feela ha lea nka fat’se le futsitse ‘me lefutso lea feteletsa. ha u re motho o leshano le nkhang u bolelang? u ne u sitoa ho hlahisa taba tsa hau u sa kenya puo tseo tsa balisana, kapa u molisana?
Comment by David on 23 August 2012:
ehlile pit u leshano. Helang banna.. Ntho eno eo u e buang is nonsensical.
Comment by Ache on 23 August 2012:
che us ska mo loanela Mahaletere @ tlotlisang eaka ho itsoe o tla u sherela chelete ena ea bosholu,kapa u ntso utsoa le eena?
Comment by kompi on 23 August 2012:
Charity begins at home. Joale ha ese e qala mabotsela e thusang bathong moleleki?Moleleki esale ele monna ea sebetsang ka hore na u tseba mang, le lekaleng la hae no body would be employed if she or he was not known to him. He is so petty. Life is catching up with you, you will understand the pain of being sidelined in all corners of life bru, just watch and learn. U ne u hopola hore lesotho lena ke la ntatao o le mong joale tlotjo e hloma sesela.
Comment by Masheleshele on 23 August 2012:
Let me know here. Why 3 accounts for one org? Why only one man’s name involved in every single story sorrounding the entire matter. Hmmm, i can smell the rat! Anyway, let’s waite and allow the justiice system take its own course.
Comment by Sonny boy on 23 August 2012:
nthuseng baheso, how possible is it that we can know the funder of this org? my main interest is on the source of the money. this funder, was he/she in good senses when he/she allows 3 accounts for 1 org and one signotory for all three a/c. kapa bafani ba bangata moo?
li tloheleng li hole ha mmoho retla libona mohla kotulo, haeba hase eona kutulo ena.
Comment by Sonny boy on 23 August 2012:
hona le motho ea kileng a nruta, ene ka rutehela ruri. thuto ea hae e khutso’ane fela ele matla enere, ” Molimo haa tla qala a otle motho, o qala pele kaho motima kelello”
A tsoela pele are ” ntho eo holeng bobebe hoe etsa, hoe arabella ho thata, empa eo holeng thata hoe etsa hoe arabella ho bobebe”
Retla libona mohla kotulo, e atametse ts’enolo.
Comment by Ngoana Motho on 23 August 2012:
ke hore ke bomali-mabe bona boo motho a tlo tsamaea tseleng e tsoeu ea ‘mila haebe fela o ithuisa ka hore ebe o ntse a re hona le likhutsana tseo a li phelisang eba ke bolotsana boo a bo sebelisang ka bana ba batho ba hlokang. HOW SHAME! Haebe ho se joalo rea u lebohela ka ho kenya letsoho baneng ba hlokang tsoella ho fihlela leha u se u se letona tjena.
Comment by Tshedidi on 23 August 2012:
Ke lakatsa hore nnete ea taba ena ea chelete e fihloe, Basotho ba sotlehile ha bohloko hleng.
Comment by tlotlisang on 23 August 2012:
Ngoana Motho! I like your spirit on this issue. If Mokola is guilty, the courts of law will convict him. It is not our duty to charge and convict him on the media courts. The courts of law are the only one with enough expertise and competence on this matter. We should hold our horses and wait for the processes of justice to take its course.
Comment by Maleshoane seforo on 23 August 2012:
Batho ba molimo nna i ve bin staying in 1 of the orphenages n um expeld hothoe ke letoala hake sa rate ntho tseo a lietsang like dis kind of fraut.re bula likarete tsa banka ebe o fihla a litseka ebe okopa lichelete ho li sponsor as me ebe o reka likoloi haana stres nna ketla sekolong ke papatehile ke tlala.and nw she is after my bek wanting money i stay lockd in my house coz wat i want is education nw abusing my family.the day is coming hle wsh all orphaneges cn b visited and checkd.pele ea pele mapotoana hle aentseng orphenages
Comment by Bobete on 24 August 2012:
I just checked the website of the “molelekifoundation”. Very ambitious indeed. It says the orphanage is run by a board of trustees namely: Monyane Moleleki, his wife Dr Ramatlapeng, former Minister of Tourism ‘Mannete Ramaili, Ambasador to Malaysia Ntsebe Kokome and one Mahao Morienyane. The question remains, why is Mahaltere the only signatory when there are other board members. I think this goes against the norm for organisations of this nature. What is potrayed on the website is totally different from what this paper has seen. Then how do the gullible Mapotoanas reconcile the huge amounts lying in the bank accounts with the actual status of the orphanage. There is no smoke without fire.
Comment by Moshebelli on 24 August 2012:
Mahaletere o entse tsiuonayan robala ka orphanage eno…PERIOD…Basotho ha se litlatla…mesebetsi ya hae e tla molatela…halala….!
Comment by Lefefooane on 28 August 2012:
Nothing special about Moleleki’s orphanage-AT LEAST THERE IS SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!BA LE TLOHETSE HOJA BA LE T’SELA KA METSI A BELANG BO NT’SUNYE KHANG TING!!!!!!!!LE NE LE SA EE KENG HA MOLELEKI E SA LE LETONA????????
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