Lehlohonolo Mosoang, the National Independent Party (NIP)’s only MP, has defected to the Democratic Congress (DC) party. Mosoang won the Sempe constituency in Quthing after the DC threw its weight behind him. The DC’s candidate, Morero Lentša, had been disqualified from the 2022 elections because he was a civil servant.
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Mosoang crossed to the DC last Friday.
Speaker of Parliament Tlohang Sekhamane, read his letter in parliament which indicated that he was crossing to the DC.
“After receiving this letter, I made a clear analysis of this issue,” Sekhamane said, instructing Mosoang to go to where the DC MPs sit in the House.
Sekhamane said Mosoang “is one person who came into parliament after being voted in by the people of Sempe”.
“He has a right to cross and uncross anytime he feels like it,” he said.
Mosoang’s defection has left his NIP reeling with party leader Kimetso Mathaba telling thepost this week that they “never expected the defection”.
Mathaba said Mosoang “never came to the party’s NEC (National Executive Committee) to explain where he is not happy or dissatisfied”.
“We suspect that Mosoang is defecting after he lost the party’s leadership race,” Mathaba said.
The NIP held an elective conference in March and Mosoang lost the race to lead the party to Mathaba.
“He lost dismally,” Mathaba said. “Maybe the people who advised him misled him into believing that he could square it against me.”
He said Mosoang rejected advice to contest for other positions in the NIP’s NEC.
Mathaba however admitted that Mosoang’s defection will hurt the party financially as he was its sole MP. He said for some time the party had been asking Mosoang, who earned a salary as an MP, to help pay rent for the party’s offices.
“Maybe Mosoang was angry with the party after the NEC asked him to contribute M2 000 monthly for the growth and development of the party,” he said.
“This is the second year after we made that plea, and he never paid a cent despite us issuing him with reminders.”
Mathaba said he was disappointed with the defection because he “wanted to raise Mosoang until he became one of Lesotho’s political gurus”.
“He decided to do as he wished,” he said.
“His defection took away our party’s title and representative in parliament.”
He said the campaign funds the party receives from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) are not always enough to run the office hence the NIP relied heavily on people it deployed in government offices like MPs.
“The young man has hurt me badly.”
“Most people die politically after floor-crossing,” he said, adding: “We were hoping to make him an MP again.”
He said they were together at a funeral of the NIP’s women’s league treasurer recently and “he did not show any sign of someone who was about to defect”.
Mosoang told thepost that it is not true that he is running away from the M2 000 monthly contribution to the party’s coffers.
Mosoang said he financed the NIP’s elective conference in March.
“Those allegations are made by people who are bitter, I am not fighting anyone,” Mosoang said.
He said the people who voted for him were mostly DC supporters after the party leadership had touted for him.
He said he has been working together with the DC MPs in parliament.
Speaking in an earlier with thepost, Mosoang DC founder Pakalitha Mosisili has always been his role model in politics.
He said he only joined the NIP instead of the DC because its leadership was more approachable than other political parties, adding that however in terms of leadership style and achievements, “Mosisili surpasses all”.
“I loved his style of politics,” Mosoang said.
He praised Mosisili for “achieving a lot” in terms of infrastructure development.
He cited the building of schools and roads as some clear examples of his achievements.
“During droughts, Mosisili would go out to seek food aid to save people from starvation. I take him as my role model in politics,” he said.
Nkheli Liphoto
