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Mohalenyane Phakela
THE Media Institute of Southern Africa – Lesotho (MISA) has withdrawn its constitutional application for the nullification of the recent recall of the 10th parliament and all the laws it had passed.
Addressing a press conference at MISA offices in Maseru yesterday, MISA chairperson, Nkoale Oetsi Tšoana, said their application was no longer necessary since the court had already granted a similar application filed by lawyer, Lintle Tuke, and journalist-cum-politician, Kananelo Boloetse, this week.
“We have resolved to withdraw our case since we were seeking the same reliefs as Adv Tuke and Mr Boloetse,” Mr Tšoana said. He said now that the government had indicated that it would be appealing the verdict in the Court of Appeal, they would support Adv Tuke and Mr Boloetse “to defend their victory” in the apex court.
He attacked the now dissolved National Assembly for its failure to approve the reforms bills during its five year tenure which started in July 2017 and ended at midnight on 13 July 2022. He also accused the MPs of tampering with some clauses which had been approved by the National Reforms Authority (NRA). The NRA had been set up through an act of parliament to spearhead the reforms process.
“The reforms process started a long time ago and MISA was in the forefront as one of the stakeholders to ensure that the National Reforms Authority (NRA) drafts the laws that the people want. However, if you compare the bill from parliament to what the NRA had submitted, you will realise that a lot had been taken out.
“The 10th parliament was a joke. MPs would even take pillows to parliament to go and sleep. At times they threw dustbins at each other instead of working. Now when their time lapsed, they claimed a bogus state of emergency so that they could reconvene. We agree with the Senate that the National Assembly did not handle reforms well,” Mr Tšoana said.
This was in reference to allegations by some senators that the MPs had tempered with proposed constitutional amendments and removed those they felt would not serve their political interests.
