BNP stalwart ousted
MASERU — Long-serving Basotho National Party secretary general Ranthomeng Matete lost his post to a relative lightweight Moletsane Jonathan during the party’s elective conference last weekend.
Matete’s ouster was the only major surprise as most of the party’s top brass retained their positions.
He is now the party’s deputy secretary general.
Thesele ’Maseribane is still the party’s president as he was not opposed, while Joang Molapo was voted back as his deputy.
Sekhohola Molelle retained his post as treasurer.
Matete, who has been the general secretary for three consecutive terms, was beaten to the post by new member Jonathan.
Matete has a long history of loyalty to the BNP from the time he was a personal secretary to the party’s founder, the late Leabua Jonathan.
Recently he was seen as the voice of reason within the party and a uniting force between warring factions led by former leader Metsing Lekhanya and the current leader ’Maseribane.
For a long time he was regarded as one of the BNP heavyweights until he lost the race for the party’s presidency to ’Maseribane after the ouster of Lekhanya in December 2010.
Other people who were elected to the executive committee are former youth leader, Tsepo Monethi, who is now the public relations officer.
Monethi replaced Letlafuoa Molapo, and ’Mapulumo Hlao, the former chairperson.
Hlao is now the northern region’s representative, succeeding Reentseng Joel.
The new executive committee has to work hard to have the BNP largely represented in the upcoming parliament.
It also has a colossal task of claiming the party’s properties from agencies that have been running them for a long time.
The BNP won a property ownership case against a local lawyer, Stefan Carl Buys, in November 2010 after years of running it against objections from ’Maseribane’s faction, which was then not in power.
’Maseribane told delegates at the conference on Saturday that their lawyers were still working to ensure the final and complete return of all their properties to the party.
The former ruling party is now a shadow of its former self after it was ousted in a military coup in 1986.
The BNP only had three MPs in the last parliament after performing dismally in the last election in 2007.
Analysts say the party is still struggling to shake off its image as a party that ruled with an iron fist in the 1970s and early ‘80s under Jonathan.
Comment by Oa maliba on 19 April 2012:
a) Chief Ranthomeng Matete was not “ousted” but democratically elected.
b)Ntate Moletsane Jonathan has been with the party for years and is not a new member.
c)Chief Ranthomeng has never contested for the BNP Presidency and has never lost to Chief Maseribane.
d)You talk of Monethi having replaced Letlafuoa AND Mahlao. You futher continue to say Mahlao was the Chairman. If I am not mistaken, Chairman ke molulasetulo & molula setulo oa BNP ke mamats’umunyane eseng Mahlao, hape hahona mo Ts’epo e kabang molula setulo eaba ea eba Phala ea mokha, the constitution does not allow that ntate.
Ka moso etsa background check ea hao ngoaneso le li editor tsa hao like li etse mosebetsi.
Comment by Sasa on 19 April 2012:
@Oa Maliba> how do we know you are the one telling the “truth”. Get over yourself
Comment by Oa maliba on 19 April 2012:
Don’t have time to entertain imbeciles like yo Sasa. Seka nqhoela setafo kea kopa hobane utla oela ha bohloko.
Comment by Kokota on 19 April 2012:
@Oa Maliba. Indeed Chief Ranthomeng contested the leadership position. Thesele won and Chief came third during the last leadership election.
Otherwise good move. He should not have been spared when Major General was voted out. What needs to happen next is to remove some old remaining faces and replace with new faces. BNP needs to re-invent itself and build a formidable force for 2017. Its time to dilute these many (not so different) congress fragments which have dominated our politics and in the process misgoverned this country.
Comment by nonyana on 19 April 2012:
Bo-Joang ha le inahane. Tlohella ho ja rente ea bo BNP centre. Bothata ba BNP is that it is alone against million congress parties tseo at anytime ha BNP eka tsosa mohahla li ka kopanang ho sa tsotelle hore na ha ba ba utloane ha kae. Have you ever thought of engaging the services of a campaign stategist; bo Obama le bo Hellen Zille; ba li sebelisitse ka katleho. Bothatha bo bong bo boholo ke ba hore bana ba khethang matstsing ana ha ba tsebe letho ka BNP. The few who do ke ba bolelletsoeng ke batsoali ba bona.
Bolateli ba lipolotiki haholo bathong ba banyanyane ka lilemo bo its’oanela feela le ba papali ea bolo. Ngoana ha qala ho ba le thahasello ea bollo selemong se fetileng o tla o bolela hore o rata Man. City ho fapana le ‘na ke ratang tottenham eo ke e ratileng in the 80s nakong ea bo-Chris Waddle le Glen Hoddle. Lebaka leo ngoana enoa a ratang Man. City ka lona ke hobane nakong ena eo re buang ka eona Man. City ke team en ngoe ea tse kholo leagueing ea Manysemane matstasing ana. Bana ba toalatsa, ba fofe j.j. hobane ba hlaha mahlo ho toalatsoa.
Ako checheng maoa le tlohelle ho ja rente.
Ntlha ea bobeli, ako emiseng ho etsa party ena ea Molapo, Jonathane, Majara; eka tloha ea ke se seng sa mabaka a sitisang batho ho kena ka setotsoana kaha e shebahala ele party ea lelapa la borena.
Comment by nonyana on 19 April 2012:
With all these many challenges, does BNP able intelligence in its structures. Tlohellang ja rente; sebtsang.
Comment by nonyana on 19 April 2012:
Where is the pseudo cabinet kahare ho BNP. For example ho hlokahala motho ea tla bua ka thuto ea bana ba Basotho.
Mohlala to elevate the education crisis in Lesotho BNP should be talking figures: Palo ea bana ba pasitseng ka mekhalhlelo e fanpaneng, ba amohetsoeng in tertiary institutions, ba sa amohelloang empa ba pasitse j.j This way people will appreciate that indeed there is a problem. Ultimately suggest what BNP would do differently to adress bothata. Tsamaeang le e lialemoheng, litsebi mafapheng a fapaneng karare ho mokha li bue ka mathata a puso ka botebo. Learn to do things differently.
Comment by Oa maliba on 19 April 2012:
Kokota ngoaneso ke hopola eka hone ho eme, Mme Malillane, Pius Molapo, Majara Molapo, Prof Makoa, Thesele Maseribane Le Regie Teka Teka. Hake hopole eka morena oa matsieng une a eme le ena, empa ke hopola ntate Lekhanya ele eena aneng a re u bona ena morena oa matsieng a ka monkela sebaka, etlaba ke lebetse hore une a qeteletse a iketa le ena mofekeng eno, ‘me ebang hole Joalo ke kopa Ts’oarelo ho Mr Caswell.
Hake tsoele pele hore ho oena Kokota le Nonyana, banna ba heso maikutlo a lona a matle bona bo haesale,Seu motho u sempa u ho labalabela ke hore, eseka maneshenale hohle mo ateng antse a bala taba tsena tsa lona tse molemoe, ebile eka lika ba tsosa morolo joale le bona ba tlatsetsa ka tse ling tse ahang, eka sitana le eona komiti ena e satsoa khutlisetsoa ka moqebelo. Nonyana ngoaneso the second last comment ebang ke nonyana e ts’oanang ha e utloahale, empa banna ba heso tsena tse ling le lahletse ka matla.
Comment by Molapo on 19 April 2012:
@Nonyana am nt a BNP member empa ke oa leloko leo u le bolelang kempa feela ke bonts’a ke party ea mang le mang. Hoo ke ho lumelang ke taba ea hore batho ba hloma eka ke party ea moreneng. Ke rata taba ea hore u rata le ho tseba bolo. ‘me hoja hoa etsahala re ke re qoqe ka eona so that we easy our minds on polotics. Ele hore ha reea lebokoseng ka la 26 re be re pholile..
Comment by Petsoamajoeng on 19 April 2012:
BNP will never rule Lesotho again. As long as it is still in the hands of the royal few, Lesotho will never become Swaziland.
Comment by nonyana on 19 April 2012:
Oa Maliba
I meant able intelligence. Competitioneng ho hlokahala lispy. This organ ea tsela ea tsebetso e tla re thusa ho tseba ka potlako seo puso le ba liparty tse ling ba ntse ba senahana le hona ho se etsa. We will therefore be able to react on time, well before ba ka etsa seo ba batlang ho se etsa. This should in fact be part of the party’s strategy ‘something-something’. Ha se mang le mang ka hare ho party ea tla tseba ka composition ea eona.
Comment by Lefefooane on 19 April 2012:
As far as I have observed, BNP is the only party whose members are loyal to the party and not to the individual. The BNP supporters, few as they maybe, identify with BNP than with the leader. In many instances when they have factions, they hardly ever crack into two ‘halves’. Yes they do have cracks but their nucleaus always remains. Ke hore ba qhetsoha hanyenyane unlike the congress parties. In the congress parties whenever they have to split, it is usually a ‘very big’ split. Take the following splits as examples: BCP—LCD, LCD—ABC, LCD—CD and compare them to BNP—-NIP, BNP—-NPP, BNP—-BDNP.
Ke li bona joalo. Whenever there is the damage in the congress parties, such damage is usually so big to such an extent that the mother party BCP has gone into extinction. Imagine a party that won all 65 constituencies in 1993, 15 years later it can not even have 20 card carrying members.
Comment by Le-DC on 19 April 2012:
Morena Maseribane o lokela ho toba taba ha a mema manazi hore a khutlele ho BNP. ‘Nete ke hore manazi boholo a ile fiefdomong ea ntt.moholo menepe. Mohlala; batho ba bangata bao ke neng ke tseba e le manazi a maholo ba ile toaleng ‘me Thesele o tlameha ho toba ntlha ena.
Comment by Molapo on 19 April 2012:
@Lefefooane, oa pota joale. LCD-CD. Ke efe jwale e e bitsong CD. Kene ke nahana hore o pholie empa kea bona o ts’oana hantle le bo ranku-li-kae bane ba Moafrika nxa. Na rea ahanang kapa rea lihelanang. Obama o thehile his polotic via internet so isn’t wise that rona bao re reng re ka etsa change ebe re qala metheo ea rona hona mo? Ha re qaleng banna le basali ba heso unless we are not different to these leaders bao re ntseng rella ka bona. Boqetseke ba ho ngola in this forum without making any change its of no use re mpa re bonts’a skilll sa ho ngola le mahlapa le ho hobosana.. If we can’t make change in this forum we are pathetic… Taba ena e bonts’a hantle hore basotho re li swaswi no one can take this point away…
Comment by Stukas on 24 April 2012:
Why Lesotho is doing this mara? why should we fight for ruling? is it because we love the country or we need money? are we gonna deliver after having won the election? why cannt we better give the country to RSA atleast because bana ba basotho bajana maro? i think can be better because Zuma with rule us equally……………Re its`ehisa ka naha tse ling ka nnete…………
Comment by Lefefooane on 25 April 2012:
@Molapo, u tihile ha u tsebe CD? Ehlile ke CD ntho eno. Beng ba eona ba re ke potoana. If you and others choose to call it DC it is up to you. To me it is CD(Condom). It is only going to be used just for the upcoming elections and that will be it.
Ok. In any case I was just saying from my observation, the congress people never ‘identify’ with the congress ideology (if ever it exists). They identify with the leader that is why whenever congress parties break they split into big halves. It does not come as a surprise that the original congress(BCP) has since ceased to exist while its counterpart has kept its existence. Ka bo 1993 and before the two major parties were BNP and BCP. The BCP followers never really had an ideology or a constituency, they merely followed the leader. No wonder when they cam to power they did exactly what they accused BNP of. They kept employing only LCD card carrying members, tenders were only awarded to cadres etc. All the nasty things which the then BCP was fighting against were done during the congress rule hence I came to conclude there was indeed no ideology. In the BNP whenever there are squabbles the BNP never breaks into two halves. This is my observation. This then means that the BNP followers have an ideology (god or bad) that brings them together under the party BNP regardless of who the leader is. Safe to say the only thing that the congress people identify with are the colours(Botso botal le bofubelu ….ena ke thapelo ea mahatamoho). The only thing that the BNP supporters do is shun national elections voter apathy) when they do not agree with their leader. They hardly break away just like the congress parties do. Just watch the space after the elections the CD will break into the Sekatle faction or Mahaltere faction (Ba maloting vs Ba mabalane. Pajero, etc). Ke ‘na ea chong. The BNP ideology is protection of cheiftainship and the catholic church.