SA lawyer mints money in Lesotho

Staff Reporter

MASERU – Senior Counsel Shaun Abrahams, a South African lawyer who has been engaged by the Lesotho Government to prosecute some of the high profile cases in the country is paid M20 000 a day, to appear in the High Court of Lesotho.This emerged last Thursday in the National Assembly as Minister of Justice and Law, Advocate Lekhetho Rakuoane was responding to a question and answer session.

He also said SC Abrahams is paid M15 000 to make an appearance in the Magistrate’s Court. Abrahams is a South African lawyer and the former National Director of the Public Prosecutions (NDPP) at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in South Africa.

Prior to his appointment in 2015 when Mxolisi Nxasana stepped down as NDPP, Abrahams had been a senior state advocate in the Priority Crimes Litigation Unit.
Adv Rakuoane said for perusal, preparation, consultation-charge per hour or part thereof, Abrahams charges the state M2 500.
He was quick to note that the total amount of money that the South African lawyer has been paid to date since 2018 is M7 924 220.28, adding that the Government still owes him a certain amount of money.

Rakuoane said foreign judges are also paid huge sums of money for their legal services in the country, adding that he is already working on this challenge together with the Attorney General. The minister was responding to questions asked by the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), Tšeliso Mokhosi who wanted him to shed light to the House on Abrahams’ contract with the Government.

Abrahams was engaged as the lead prosecutor in some high profile cases against some members of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) and the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) who face, among others, murder charges in the High Court.

He also prosecutes cases against some political leaders like Mothetjoa Metsing and Selibe Mochoboroane who face charges of treason. Former Deputy Prime Minister Metsing is also the leader of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). Mochoboroane, who is the Minister of Development Planning, is the leader of Movement for Economic Change (MEC).

Some of the cases that Abrahams is prosecuting include the one in which some soldiers are charged with the murder of former army chief, Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Maaparankoe Mahao on June 25, 2015.

He is also prosecuting the matter in which some members of the LDF are charged with multiple counts of attempted murder which emanated from the 2014 bombings of some residences in Maseru. Abrahams is also the lead prosecutor in the case in which four police officers are charged with the murder of their colleague, Police Constable Mokalekale Khetheng in March 2016.