Mope Khati

"We saw him (Mr Lephema) interfering with youth committees. We saw his actions when he entered other lawmakers’ constituencies, gathering constituency committee members."

"I have always known I would be involved in leadership in my country. I have been preparing for the long time for a role in shaping the future of Lesotho."

"I planned to join politics in 2027, but Sam Matekane started the RFP with a promise to make a difference. People usually join politics in order to enrich themselves, but I wanted better. These are people who know how to be successful in business, who could have taken their money to other countries, but have decided that it is time to put Lesotho on a positive path. The people in the constituency approached me to say I should consider joining this new party, as they were aligned with what I was already doing in the community."

"My ability to relate to people is what has made me stand apart in the elections"

"My political opponents struggled to bring themselves down to the level of the people. At ALA, we were taught human-centered entrepreneurship, which means you have to build solutions according to what people need, not what you think they need. This has been quite helpful to me, as my political campaign was all about hearing the needs of the people and working with them rather than just making empty promises."

"Many countries have turned around their economic statuses during the period when they had a demographic dividend, like we do in the country. This is a period where our population has a lot of young and energetic people. We therefore have to harness this and take advantage."

"Ntate Lebona’s issue and his actions are not a surprising thing in the party. RFP is developing deep factions which are going to divide the party badly because of him."

"But it is not only him as this kind of behaviour has become a norm in the RFP. People are focused on enriching themselves and advancing their own interests, instead of working for unity."

"People unashamedly use every resource at their disposal to influence the members and constituency committees to follow them. One can only wonder where this is headed."

"Because of his strong financial muscle, he is sending big vehicles everywhere. Officials of different constituency committee are no longer planning anything with their lawmakers."

"So, legislators are complaining that they worked hard together with their campaign teams, only for people who did not have a hand in such, by virtue of being committee chairpersons or members, to be given the power to employ their wives and people of their choice."

"Same thing with these home affairs vacancies. He was sowing discord between MPs and constituencies committees. He made these committees understand that they have powers to appoint RFP members in their constituencies who are eligible for employment."