….Family wants courts’ assistant registrar probed

RELEBOHILE TSOAMOTSE

MASERU – A Ha Buasono family this week petitioned Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane to investigate High Court and Appeal Court Assistant Registrar, Tebello Mokhoema over alleged unlawful conduct. The Julius Langa Moetsana family has brought Mokhoema’s alleged shaddy dealings to Justice Sakoane and Registrar Mathato Sekoai asking the two offices to intervene by examining the lawfulness, fairness and transparency of Advocate Mokhoema in preparing a deed of transfer pertaining to their family’s property.

The deed of transfer was made in November 2022 and certified by the land Registrar in January this year. The family alleges that at the time of making the deed of transfer, Mokhoema was the Assistant Registrar in contravention of the Public Service and Judicial Service regulations.

“Advocate Mokhoema acted as a legal practitioner and conveyor while still under your employ and not registered to operate as legal practitioner. Not only did she practice as a conveyor while in the employ of the High Court of Lesotho but transferred property belonging to our 88-year-old father who was incapacitated and not in position to sign at the time of signing.”

The family adds “he was terminally ill, bed ridden from Stage 4 colon cancer and died less than three months of the alleged signing of the said transfer.” They contend that their father’s alleged signing is questionable since he was housebound and largely bed-ridden. Puso Moetsana, who wrote the letter, says the family visited the Land Administration Authority (LAA) to gather information and documents on the alleged transfer.

“It came to our attention that one of our father’s sites located at Cathedral Area was exchanged with one belonging to Napo/Mpho Elais Nkone, the transferor on the attached deed of transfer situated at Sekamaneng, Maseru.” They insist that there are irregularities that warrant further investigation. “While our lawyer will deal with the questionable aspects of this deed of transfer through relevant courts of law, we kindly request that the Hon. Chief Justice to examine the lawfulness of Advocate Mokhoema.”

The Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO), the Ombudsman, Master of the High Court and Law Society have also been served with the complaint letter. The lawyer’s body has been asked to intervene as the regulatory body for the legal profession in Lesotho to also investigate the lawfulness, fairness and transparency of Advocate Mokhoema’s conduct.

DCEO, as the anti-corruption organ that investigates corruption complaints against public sector officials, has also been asked to investigate the lawfulness of Adv. Mokhoema’s conduct. On top of that, the Ombudsman has been asked to investigate the matter as an institution mandated to uproot corruption within the public sector and investigate complaints from the aggrieved persons against government agencies and statutory corporations or officials of such agencies and organizations.