The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is bracing for an explosive session tomorrow (on Monday) when the Prime Minister’s Asset Recovery team is scheduled to present its case against the Basotho National Party (BNP).
At the heart of the dispute is the BNP Center in Maseru, which the Matekane-led government insists was unlawfully built on state land. The government has issued a thirty-day ultimatum for the property to be returned.
But the BNP is not taking the matter lying down. Speaking to Lesotho Tribune, party leader Hon. Machesetsa Mofomobe laughed off the move, describing it as “a desperate attempt by my counterpart, Hon. Sam Matekane, who is trying everything to destabilise and kill the BNP because of our stellar work in holding his corrupt regime to account.”
The controversy took a new twist on Thursday, 18 September 2025, when Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Hon. Limpho Tau, told Parliament that government had received legal advice from the Attorney General stating that the so-called Asset Recovery Unit had not been lawfully established. Tau explained that existing statutes provide mechanisms for establishing such a body, but that process has not been followed, casting doubt on the legitimacy of the unit’s operations.
The showdown now raises deeper questions about the legality of the government’s approach, the political motives behind the land reclamation push, and the potential fallout should the PAC endorse or reject the Asset Recovery team’s claims.
