Justice delivery grinds to a halt in the districts Justice delivery grinds to a halt in the districts
Mohalenyane Phakela
JUSTICE delivery will grind to halt in the country’s districts as the paltry amounts allocated to the courts for the 2021/22 financial year will be used to service outstanding debts, a senior magistrate has said.
In a weekend interview with the
Sunday Express, Northern Region Chief Magistrate, ‘Makampong Mokgoro, said unless the government urgently increased their budget allocation, the 27 courts under her jurisdiction will not be able to render any services to the public.
Chief Magistrate Mokgoro is in charge of nine courts in Leribe, seven in Berea, six in Mokhotlong and five in Butha-Buthe.
Govt paralyses judiciary with paltry allocation Govt paralyses judiciary with paltry allocation
Mohalenyane Phakela
IN a shocking development that is set to further cripple the already hamstrung judiciary, the government has only allocated a measly M937 366 to be shared by all the country’s courts including the High Court and Court of Appeal.
This according to the High Court and Court of Appeal Registrar, Advocate ‘Mathato Sekoai.
Adv Sekoai this week told journalists in Maseru that the meagre amount is for the first quarter of the 2021/22 financial year from April to June 2021. To put the matter into perspective, the M937 366 budget for all the courts is much less than the M1, 3 million electricity debt owed by the Maseru Magistrates’ Court alone.
Former PS Tšolo charged over govt fleet tender Former PS Tšolo charged over govt fleet tender
Share
Pascalinah Kabi
FORMER Ministry of Finance Principal Secretary (PS) Motena Tšolo yesterday appeared before the Maseru Magistrates’ Court on charges of corruption in the 2018 procurement of the government vehicle fleet.
PS Tšolo served under the previous Thomas Thabane government from June 2017 to May 2020. Ms Tšolo and the Finance ministry’s administrator, Mafusi Mosamo, appeared before Magistrate Teboho Thoso who released them on M2000 bail and M10 000 surety each.
Their co-accused are businessmen Teboho Tlokotsi and Tumo Ramonaheng, who have already been charged with the crimes and are currently on bail.
Former PS charged with corruption
MASERU – MOTENA Tšolo, the former Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, is facing charges of corruption and abuse of public office.
Tšolo appeared in the Maseru Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
She was charged together with Mafusi Mosamo, a senior official in the Ministry of Finance. They are alleged to have been part of a corrupt scheme to receive bribes from people who wanted the government to hire their vehicles.
Tšolo confirmed that she had been charged but said she was not sure about the charges “because they were just reading sections”.
Teboho Tlokotsi and Tumo Ramonaheng, who are alleged to have been part of the sleaze, have already been charged.
Families of jailed soldiers fume
MASERU-THE families of two Basotho soldiers who have been languishing in a South African remand prison for the past ten months say their patience is wearing thin.
Privates Rorisang Moepi and Dumile Tšoeunyane have been detained in an Eastern Cape jail since July when they were arrested by the South African army.
The duo is charged with illegally entering South Africa, stock theft, robbery and possession of unlicensed firearms. They however denied the charges, insisting that they were on patrol and only crossed the border to pursue rustlers who had stolen cattle from Lesotho.