Naledi Funeral Planners has appointed Mr Tsolo Blessed Seutloali as interim managing director and folded the functions of its suspended Chief Legal and Compliance Officer into the new role, according to a leaked internal memorandum seen by the Lesotho Tribune.
The memorandum, dated 8 June 2026 and addressed to all employees, is issued by order of the board and signed by the chairman, Mr Thabiso Gilden Madiba. It states that Mr Seutloali’s appointment took effect on the same date and that he will lead management and exercise powers delegated by the board.
The memo further advises that, following the suspension of the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, who also serves as company secretary, the duties of that office will now sit inside the interim managing director’s role.
“The responsibilities and functions of that office will, on an interim basis, be consolidated into the role of the Interim Managing Director.”
Employees and departments that previously reported to the Chief Legal and Compliance Officer are instructed to report directly to the interim managing director until further notice. Matters normally referred to the chief executive officer or the company secretary are likewise to be directed to Mr Seutloali. The memo states that all other reporting structures remain unchanged unless otherwise communicated.
The appointment comes amid a protracted power struggle at the Leribe-based funeral services company. Its annual general meeting in January descended into chaos and landed rival factions before the High Court’s Commercial Division, with ousted chairperson Malefetsane Tlelima and other removed board members seeking to block their removal, opposed by majority shareholder Thabiso Madiba, according to reporting by the Sunday Express.
The company secretary referenced in the memo, Advocate Peter Matekane, has featured prominently in that dispute. The Lesotho Times has reported that Adv Matekane is a suspended senior official of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences who faced accusations of working at Naledi in breach of public service rules, and that he declined to convene board meetings on the grounds that Mr Madiba’s chairmanship remained under legal challenge. The same paper reported in May that company managers had barred Mr Madiba from entering several Naledi premises, including the Temong head office and branches in Teyateyaneng, Maputsoe, Botha-Bothe, Hlotse and Mapoteng.
Naledi Funeral Planners was incorporated in 2012 and operates branches across the northern, central and southern regions of Lesotho, providing funeral policies and related services to Basotho households. In 2023, the company’s chief financial officer and its finance manager were shot dead in Maseru, and a then managing director resigned while facing charges in connection with the killings, alongside allegations that the company had been defrauded of more than M10 million (about US$560,000), according to reporting by The Post.
In the memorandum, the board thanks employees for their cooperation and continued commitment during the interim period.
