Maseru — The Lesotho Tribune can confirm that on Thursday, 6 November 2025, Commissioner-General ‘Mathabo Mokoko secured a Labour Court interdict against both the Minister of Finance and the Revenue Services Lesotho (RSL) Board of Directors, restraining them from dismissing her or acting on a show cause letter issued earlier in the week.
Despite being formally served with the order, the RSL Board, chaired by Lindiwe Sephumolo, openly defied the court ruling and announced Mokoko’s dismissal the following day, 7 November 2025.
The Labour Court order (LC: 106/2025), issued by the Labour Court of Lesotho sitting in Maseru, clearly restrains and interdicts the respondents, the RSL and its Board, from “dismissing, threatening to dismiss and/or acting on the letter annexure ‘MM2’ pending the outcome of this application.” The same order explicitly declares that the respondents “may not dismiss the applicant without following the due process of a disciplinary hearing required by the contract of employment in terms of clauses 12 and 13(c) of annexure ‘MM1’.”
In essence, the court found that any attempt to remove Mokoko before a proper hearing would violate her contractual and constitutional rights. The order further directed that the interdict operates with immediate effect as an interim order and instructed the respondents to appear before court on 11 November 2025 at 10:00 a.m.to show cause why the interim and final reliefs should not be made permanent.
The RSL Board’s decision to fire Mokoko after the interdict was served amounts to contempt of court, a serious legal transgression that can attract both civil and criminal consequences.
In a press release dated 7 November 2025, the RSL Board declared that it had “resolved to terminate the tenure of Mrs. Mathabo Mokoko as Commissioner-General of the RSL with immediate effect,” while thanking her for her leadership and appointing Mr. Rakokoana Makoa as Acting Commissioner-General.
The statement omits two key facts:
1. That Mokoko had been issued a show cause letter earlier in the week, and
2. That the Labour Court had already granted an interdict barring the Board from taking any action against her pending the court proceedings.
Legal analysts who reviewed the court papers describe the Board’s conduct as a flagrant disregard of the judiciary and a constitutional crisis in miniature. One senior lawyer told Lesotho Tribune, “This is not just insubordination of the court; it is contempt of the rule of law itself.”
A senior government insider added that Sephomolo personally pushed for Mokoko’s removal despite knowing about the court’s ruling. “It was calculated defiance, an open challenge to the authority of the courts,” the insider said.
Governance experts warn that such defiance by a state entity undermines the foundation of corporate governance and weakens public confidence in institutions meant to safeguard legality and accountability.
The Labour Court has set 11 November 2025as the date when the respondents must appear to explain why the interim order should not be made final. Unless the court reverses course, the Board and its chairperson now risk contempt proceedings, potentially exposing them to fines or imprisonment.
Efforts to obtain comment from the RSL and the Ministry of Finance were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
