FORMER principal secretary for the cabinet, Kabelo Lehora, has asked the High Court to stop Lesotho’s anti-corruption unit from arresting him over the Covid-19 procurement rot. thepost understands that Lehora is about to be charged for fraud involving M57 603 after he authorised the fuelling of vehicles belonging to Mashapha Transport without following procurement regulations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The offence allegedly happened in 2020.
In his defence, Lehora says he is sick.
In the certificate of urgency of his application, his lawyer Advocate Rethabile Setlojane told the court yesterday that the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) was preparing to arrest Lehora today.
He asked the court to interdict and restrain the DCEO from taking Lehora’s pictures and publish them on the social media as well as taking his fingerprints.
Lehora, in an affidavit, said he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has been in and out of hospital and therefore cannot be locked in a dark room.
He said contrary to what the DCEO is saying, he is not refusing to hand himself over for interrogation it is just that his calling up coincided with his bouts of illnesses and admissions in hospitals.
In May this year Lehora was supposed to have been charged together with his fellow Cabinet principal secretary, Kamoho Matlama, and former Maseru District Administrator Mpane Nthunya.
Matlama and Nthunya appeared before Magistrate Lerato Ntilane charged with fraud and were released after they paid M3 500 bail and surety of M100 000 each while Lehora was not available to be joined.
They were charged together with businessman Motlohi Mashapha, a director of Mashapha Transport, which was also accused of violating the procurement regulations.
The prosecution said Matlama and Nthunya abused their positions by engaging Mashapha Transport vehicles between 2020 and 2023 at the District Administrator’s office and Cabinet Administration office without following procurement regulations.
Nthunya was charged with accepting a bribe of M28 000 from Mashapha Transport on April 6, 2021.
Mashapha Transport is also accused of money laundering amounting to M57 603.
The prosecution alleged that Mashapha falsified mileage records for his vehicles used in contracted services, leading to a loss of M202 813 for the government.
Mashapha’s vehicles are also said to have been unlawfully fuelled at the government fuel depot, causing further financial loss to the government.
Staff Reporter
