’Marafaele Mohloboli
THEIR Majesties, King Letsie III and Queen ’Masenate Mohato Seeiso, have allegedly been defrauded of a whooping M1.5 million by their Principal Protocol Officer, Moeketsi Tsiboho.
According to deputy police spokesperson, Sub-Inspector ’Makeabetsoe Mofoka, the 57-year-old Mr Tsiboho, who handles all royal trips, helped himself to the money that had been earmarked to finance the Royal family’s needs on a trip to Cuba in February this year.
“The money was meant for their majesties’ travel needs including accommodation but their hosts had already paid for everything and the money remained unused,” Sub-Insp Mofoka said.
“Mr Tsiboho then decided to pocket it instead of returning it upon returning from the trip.
“Mr Tsiboho, who is a resident of Moshoeshoe II in Maseru, appeared before the Maseru Magistrate Court on 12 August and was released on M1 000 bail. He stands accused of fraud and will appear again before court on 24 August,” Sub Inspector Mofoka said.
Mr Tsiboho is only three years away from retirement and should he be found guilty; he may end up foregoing his pension.
His arrest comes as a surprise to many Basotho who say they held him in high regard before that crime came to light.
Lesotho’s permanent representative to the African Union (AU), Professor Mafa Sejanaman, posted on microblogging site Twitter saying: “I always held him in high esteem, maybe I’m a bad judge of character”.
However, some of Mr Tsiboho’s colleagues, who preferred anonymity, said it was unlikely that this was the first time that the accused had defrauded the royal family. In fact, they say he was just unlucky to have been caught this time around.
“This is probably not the first time; it’s just that in this instance he was busted. This was just an unfortunate incident for him…,” one of his colleagues said.
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