FOUR members of the Basotho National Party (BNP) who were suspended for five years on Tuesday say they will challenge their suspension. The four are Tsikoane constituency chairman, Aupa Lebeko, deputy chairman for Qhoali, Makama Monese, Phamong chairman Lebohang Motaung, and Khotso Phafoli, who is an ordinary member.
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The quartet met the BNP’s wrath after they openly attacked leader Machesetsa Mofomobe for what they called a dismal failure to run the party.
They also blamed Mofomobe for the BNP’s poor performance in last year’s parliamentary election, saying it was because of his insensitivity to members’ needs that they lost.
The four were banned from participating in al party activity for the next five years.
Speaking after picking his suspension letter on Tuesday, Monese said he has been a BNP member for the past 60 years.
He said he was the one who lobbied other members to appoint Mofomobe a spokesman for the party, adding that “it is not fair that today the same person is suspending me”.
“We worked hard to make him the leader he is today,” Monese said.
Phafoli said he was born in a family of BNP stalwarts.
“Our party is not being handled with care as the leader is suspending its strong members,” Phafoli said.
“I will not allow to see the party dying like this,” he said.
He said he contested for elections three times under the party’s banner.
“I am embarrassed with the way the people we trusted are doing things.”
He also said the party leadership should be aware that the party membership is declining every day.
Motaung said the five-year suspension “is actually a dismissal from the party”.
“I do not accept this decision at all,” Motaung said.
Lebeko said he knows “the leader is spiteful”.
“But I never thought he would take sides like this,” Lebeko said.
He said his father died as a member of the BNP in 1984 and therefore “I will never take this lying down, Machesetsa should know that he has started a war”.
Their suspension letters say they should not hold themselves as BNP members until their suspension has expired.
Their suspension comes four months after they wrote a letter ridiculing Mofomobe who they called a loser.
They blamed him for mismanaging the party that led to its dismal loss in last year’s elections. They also accused Mofomobe of failing to bring warring factions together after a controversial elective conference.
They blamed Mofomobe for election loss saying he did not organise enough rallies in the run-up to the elections.
“The party did not have the campaign teams and there was no party regalia and campaign funding was not there,” they complained.
They said instead of working for the party, Mofomobe was busy lashing at the other political leaders.
“He failed to address the matters of the party.”
The BNP spokesman, David Letela, said the four were suspended for misconduct.
He said every organisation has its policies and regulations and the four chose to ignore the BNP policies in dealing with grievances.
“The BNP believes in democracy and the rule of law,” Letela said.
He also said the party’s national executive committee’s decisions can be appealed at the annual conference.
“The decision was reached after a recommendation from the disciplinary hearing,” he said.
Nkheli Liphoto
