- claims to be good friends with DPM Mokhothu
’Marafaele Mohloboli
A PAKISTANI national at the centre of allegations of masterminding a human trafficking ring has denied the allegations.
Rana Qamar denied the claims in an interview with the Lesotho Times this week from his base in Pakistan. Mr Qamar first came to Lesotho in 2015 and married a Mosotho woman, Ayisha Qamar (nee ‘Mapheta Kobile.)
He also rubbished allegations that he had fled the country on 10 November 2020 after the trafficking claims were made against him by an immigration officer, ‘Mapeete Jonathan. (See main story).
He said he had only gone to Pakistan to visit his parents and would soon be returning to his wife and two children.
He denied allegations that he used his Democratic Congress (DC) connections to punish Ms Jonathan for denying entry to two Pakistanis he had attempted to bring into the country as part of his human trafficking activities. He insisted his hands were clean and he did not engage in any illegal activities.
He however, claimed to be “good friends” with Deputy Prime Minister Mathibeli Mokhothu as “I needed someone who has an influence and could protect me in Lesotho”.
He refused to be drawn into saying whether or not he had actually donated some vehicles to the DC as alleged by Ms Jonathan in her court papers.
“I swear by the living God that I am not involved whatsoever in the said illegal dealings and I would never do such. I didn’t flee the country. I only left because I needed to see my parents.
“I will be returning to Lesotho next month because I miss my wife, kids and in-laws. However, I don’t feel safe at all in Lesotho because I have been fingered as a trafficker which is not true at all. But I have to come because I am so worried about how they are surviving.”
When the Lesotho Times crew visited Mr Qamar’s Qeme, Maseru home this week, it found his wife, mother in law and young children- a girl and a boy.
The house is a modest four to five roomed home and there is another smaller house still under construction within the same compound.
According to Ms Qamar, her husband earns an honest living as a car dealer and co-owner of a grocery shop.
On her part, Mr Qamar’s mother-in-law, ‘Malira Kobile, had nothing but praise for him.
She described him as “a good son in-law”.
“He (Qamar) is not a wealthy man but he loves my daughter who also loves him dearly. Theirs is not a marriage of convenience,” Mrs Kobile said.
She said prior to his departure, Mr Qamar had received some death threats and the issue had been reported to the police for investigation.
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