Lesotho opposition leader survives assassination attempt

The leader of an opposition party in Lesotho, Machesetsa Mofomobe, who was shot twice last week in a failed assassination attempt, has vowed to continue exposing senior government officials involved in corruption in his country even if it means he must pay with his life.
 
In an exclusive interview with Sunday World, the Basotho National Party (BNP) leader thanked God for giving him a second chance so he could continue fighting for his people.
“They want to kill me for constantly exposing government ministers involved in corrupt activities in my country,” he said.
 
Mofomobe was shot twice last Friday, outside his home in Maseru, while walking his best friend, Mohato Seleke, to his car around 9pm.
 
“The gunman came from nowhere and shot me twice in the back while I was busy on the phone with another member of parliament and trying to get Seleke to listen to the phone call,” he explained.
 
Mofomobe said the gunman ran away from the scene into the night after firing several shots when he realised that he was still alive.
 
“Fortunately those other shots didn’t hit me.”
 
Mofomobe said he has been a thorn in the flesh of corrupt government ministers in Lesotho and has been exposing them for more than a decade.
 
He says some of his exposés included:
• A minister who allegedly awarded his own company a tender to renovate the Moshoeshoe I International Airport. The deal was originally valued at R50-million but  escalated to R184-million;
• Another minister, who was allegedly flown to Hong Kong and entertained by a Chinese company, where she signed a contract to allow the entity to build and operate a solar plant in Lesotho without paying a cent for 15 years;
The deal was rejected but the cabi­net minister signed it off
anyway;
• Another minister who allegedly bought a state-owned enterprise worth an estimated R14-billion for R200, 000;
• Tried to stop some diamond companies in Lesotho who were allowed to export their commodities at zero-rated tax but allowed to claim R40-million tax back from the state every month; and
• Also tried to stop the government from servicing the fleet of luxury vehicles owned by a senior politician for free.
 
“These cars are very expensive and the struggling economy can’t afford to maintain them. It is the first time in the history of Lesotho that the government is forced to maintain private cars that belong to a politician,” he said.
 
Mofomobe, who was in South Africa for medical treatment and also for fear for his life, maintained that he was going back home to continue fighting and exposing corruption.
“I am not a coward and I will fight against corruption until the last drop of my blood,” he said.
 
He said hours after he was admitted to a private hospital, after being shot, some soldiers came to the facility and asked about his wellbeing and whereabouts.
“My shooting is a police matter and had nothing to do with the army. My family was forced to check me out of the hospital the same night and whisked me to South Africa for my own safety.”
 
Mofomobe  said he was arrested several times before, allegedly on trumped-up charges and  was not convicted of any crime.
 
“I am not a criminal but I have been in and out of police cells more than a dozen times in the past 15 years in their effort to silence and to neutralise me and taint me as a lawbreaker. I don’t even have a traffic violation,” he said.
 
Mofomobe said so far  nobody has been arrested for his shooting.
 
“I am a leader of the opposition party and a member of parliament, and I get shot and our government can’t even issue a press statement about it. How can I expect them to solve my case?” he lamented.
 

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