Tšehlana says ABC wants him back
MASERU — Former MP and leader of Senkatana party, Lehlohonolo Tšehlana, claims there have been moves by grassroots members of the ruling All Basotho Convention (ABC) party to woo him back into the fold.
Tšehlana quit the ABC in 2008 after he sharply differed with party leader Thomas Thabane over the direction the party was taking.
He was particularly miffed by the ABC’s resolution in 2007 to appoint Thabane life president, a move Tšehlana condemned as undemocratic and unconstitutional.
Tšehlana was the ABC’s deputy publicity secretary when he left to form Senkatana.
But Tšehlana has not had it easy since he quit the ABC and formed his Senkatana party in December 2008.
The party has generally failed to make any significant impact on Lesotho’s harsh political terrain.
Senkatana performed dismally in the last election in May and failed to win a single seat in Lesotho’s 120 member parliament.
Tšehlana himself also failed to defend his Mokhotlong constituency seat which he lost to the Democratic Congress’ candidate and former government secretary Tlohang Sekhamane.
The Mokhotlong constituency had for years been his forte, winning the constituency when he was still a member of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy and later when he was still with the ABC.
Political observers say his attempt to go back to the ABC could be an attempt to seek relevance after he was dumped into the political dustbin last May.
Tšehlana confirmed to the Lesotho Times on Wednesday that there had been overtures by some ABC members to have him rejoin the party which is the biggest partner in the coalition government that also includes the LCD and the Basotho National Party.
“I told the people who have been calling me about this issue to write to the leadership of my party then we can take it from there,” he said.
Tšehlana said the people who had attempted to woo him back claimed to be from lower levels of the party leadership such as district and constituency committees.
He said he had told “these people that they need to tread with caution on the matter as it could cause political mayhem within the ABC resulting in a possible split”.
“I have told them that my move could negatively affect the party’s stability,” he said.
Tšehlana claimed that one of the factors that forced him out of the ABC was the matter of infighting within the party over the succession issue.
“There were individuals who felt threatened that I was possibly the next-in-line to the party leadership,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ABC secretary general Thabiso Litšiba on Wednesday poured water on Tšehlana’s claims dismissing the rumours of a reunion as “street talk”.
“We know nothing about such a claim, it is baseless and unfounded,” he said.
Litšiba said the claim was mere “street talk” that did not reflect the views of the ABC leadership.
“We know nothing about it,” he said.
Comment by Hlaba le kene on 4 January 2013:
Chee leha kese letoala tje kebatla ho hanana le uena monghali T’sehlana ka hore o leshano le mpipi o mpa o hlokomela hore hao hlole o kena paramenteng ho fihlela o ea hoo batang.
Comment by Ntate Poho on 4 January 2013:
Ts’ehlana hana le bolateli boo re ka reng re bo qenehetse cz bo mosiile ba khetha potoana moo Mokhotlong. Sechaba se ile sa bona ke lehlanya la lipolotiki. Kajeno o mona, hosane o mane. Tlohelang Ts’ehlana le bao a ntseng a inanatha le bona litameneng moo.Ke Ramenyetla ea leshano. Nxa!!
Comment by Joseph Qhojeng on 4 January 2013:
Ntate Tshehlana i khutlele ka khotso ntate u khauhane le litaba
Comment by Mokoena on 4 January 2013:
Hahaha..ao Ts’ehlana a ska itlama, ho ho putsoa joale moeka o itlama ka hore ba ntse ba mmatla..ha ikhutlele ka khotso a tlohele ho tlama batho..ebe le haele mang aka batlang Ts’ehlana..
Comment by fito on 4 January 2013:
ho u sa tlohela ngoanaso Ntate Tsehlana
Comment by Ntate Poho on 4 January 2013:
Ts’ehlana o tlo baka mofere-fere fela le bo-Chalitine bana ba hae ka hara ABC. Ba molietse joale o se setse a le mong. Ha tsoelepele ka Sekatana sa hae.
Comment by Marathon on 4 January 2013:
Politics is a funny game you know!
Not long ago and prior to May 26th general elections, one prominent member of ABC jumped off the ship to join LCD still under the leadership of former Premier DR.Pakalitha Mosisili. Rumours have it that he was promised a Minister of Communication post after ntate Metsing was fired from that post.
When LCD split to form yet another congress called DC, this man remained with DC still with a high hope to be rewarded with a ministerial post, unfortunately DC lost in the elections… and the story continues.
Now that ABC is a government with other parties, ntate T’sehlana wants to come back it does not matter how: which position are you eyeing for ntate T’sehlana? Just my thoughts!!
Comment by thakamphasa on 4 January 2013:
ntate Ts’ehlana ‘na ke le le kobo tata ha ke sana ts’epo ho eena hohang o shebile moo maqa a le teng,joale oa bona hore a keke a hlotse a kene paramenteng joale oa qala o batla tla iketsa konyana, ha bue ‘nete ha re ke balateli ba mokha ba reng a khutle. ha a ka khutla o lokeloa ho hlokomeloa o tlo tsela ka livote tsa batho a holise mokha oa hae ka tsona.
Comment by thakamphasa on 4 January 2013:
ntate Ts’ehlana ‘na ke le le kobo tata ha ke sana ts’epo ho eena hohana o shebile moo maqa a le teng,joale oa bona hore a keke a hlotse a kene paramenteng joale oa qala o batla tla iketsa konyana, ha bue ‘nete ha re ke balateli ba mokha ba reng a khutle. ha a ka khutla o lokeloa ho hlokomeloa o tlo tsela ka livote tsa batho a holise mokha oa hae ka tsona.
Comment by Lefefooane on 4 January 2013:
I would not object if Mr. Tsehlana comes back. For one reason he was the only one who never left ABC for the then called “greener pastures”. He simply left on a matter of principle as he then formed own party. Tsehlana ha a ka a tsoana le lilahla marungoana tse kang bo Monyalotsa, Motumi Ralejoe le tse ling who never stood the dry and scotchy sun of opposition politics and decided to join the called “gravy train”. He left one opposition party (ABC) to another opposition party(Senkatana). However, that hauhahaha and press conferences are the one I never liked. When ever they were leaving ABC for “greener” pastures they would make such huge noise and criticise Ntate Tom for not being a democrat.
One would now ask Tsehlana if, Thabane has changed from dictatorship. I think not. Then Tsehlana would then have to explain if ABC has ammended what he(Tsehlana) called “Kobo linyane” constitution. I think not. Finally Tsehlana will have to tell the nation if that famous clause of making Tom the life-time HONORARY president of ABC was removed from the founding constitution of ABC.
Empa he le ha ho le hoalo re tla mo amohela since we need his vote.
Comment by semenekane on 5 January 2013:
Ts’ehlane n ur partner Chaltin keep ur own Senkatana n we will also keep our own ABC. O kae Motumi Ralejoe le Monyalosa? Lintja li nyeka maloaloa
Batho ba matha kamora DC e se nang thuso, ho joang kajeno?
Ka ‘mila Mapantsola!!
Comment by Monnamotsho on 5 January 2013:
Hoja o nana le nnete,kea tshepa bane ba ka nna ba mo ahohela,jwale leshano khafetsa ho eena mona
Comment by BTS on 5 January 2013:
Motho enoa Tshehlana ke bona eka ba mo loile, ebile motho ea mo loileng o shoele khale.
Comment by stevovo on 5 January 2013:
ntate wee! ntate thabane e ntse e le ye na yane eo u saleng u mo siya. ha a so fetohe so do not come wa tlo re tena rona. u itse ke phoofolo e boya e jang dinku. e ya ho DC ke u eletse.
Comment by Lefefooane on 7 January 2013:
Timeline…..
The party’s deputy secretary for publicist Lehlohonolo Ts’ehlana left the party in October last year to form his Senkatana Party.
The Mokhotlong legislator had serious battles with Thabane who he accused of “running the party like his personal property”.
The ABC, which is Lesotho’s biggest opposition party, was last December shaken to its foundation after the party’s deputy publicity secretary Lehlohonolo Tsehlana defected to form his own party.
Tsehlana’s defection came hardly five months after another senior party official, Moeketsi Tsatsanyane, also quit the party.
Tsehlana said the ABC under Thabane had lost direction.
Comment by Bobete on 8 January 2013:
Joale tjena Ts’ehlana o ea le noka o sa its’oarella ka mahoholi. Mosotho ore leboela lea ja. Who has lost direction, ABC or Ts’ehlana/Sekatana?
This regular talk over radios is doing nothing to reclaim your integrity as a politician but you are only plunging yourself deeper into irrelevance. Batho ha ba ile ba loanela tokoloho ha ba sa bona le ha e fihlile joale ba tlameha ho haha seo ba se loanetseng. O tla lula o le mohanyetsi ‘me kea kholoa le kahara Sekatana o no ntso le mohanyetsi e se moetapele. A ko ichebe thaka ntona.
Comment by sebata on 9 January 2013:
These people fear you man because really they know your toughness and please don`t be let down by this minute issues.
Comment by mokhotlong on 23 January 2013:
o tlabe u nyela u mongala Ts’ehlana ha re u batle