Boitumelo Koloi
Maseru
Former Employment and Labour Minister, Mr Refiloe Masemene, who passed away last month, was laid to rest yesterday in Maseru, with speaker after speaker praising him for rising above his disability.
Mr Masemene, who was visually impaired, left his cabinet position in 2010 and was now involved in charity work for communities living with disability.
Former Prime Minister, Dr Pakalitha Mosisili , who is now leader of the main opposition Democratic Congress (DC), described Mr Masemene as a fearless, persistent and committed individual who stood firmly for what he believed in.
“Disability is not inability; that all-famous adage was a very integral part of his life and a phenomenon he went to great lengths to instil in our minds as colleagues.
“He may have been blind but trust me, he was very skilled in the ho haila dance (a political dance by Lesotho’s congress parties) which he did in a fashion that far surpassed what many would have expected from a person with visual impairment.
“Ntate Masemene was a strong believer in the congress political ideology which he stood by from a very early point of his life.
“He understood the ideology and stood by it throughout his life,” Dr Mosisili said, adding the congress political ideology was “very different to the nationalist ideology”.
Dr Mosisili, who has been under fire for this view by people who have argued it sows disharmony among Basotho, yesterday maintained opposing political ideologies would “never mix”.
The current coalition government is made up of three political parties which subscribe to different political ideologies, namely the All Basotho Convention, Basotho National Party and Lesotho Congress for Democracy.
“It was he, who taught us the essence of the fact that disability is not inability, not only in speech but also in the way he went about his life”. Dr Mosisili said.
“He had an amazingly exceptional ability to recall issues in so much detail that many of us could not understand.
“He would recount the contents of meetings’ minutes to the letter; he could quote with remarkable detail what was contained in documents he had only heard of and never seen”. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Mohlabi
Tsekoa, who spoke on behalf of government, described Mr Masemene as a man of “very special abilities” who was very knowledgeable about the law.
“He could quote verses of the law with exceptional precision. The country has lost a great icon, which is why I encourage you to cheer up and celebrate the great life which he lived and embrace his great legacy”, Mr Tsekoa said.
Mr Masemene, who was born fully sighted in 1955, started losing his vision at the age of 12 years.
He studied law at the National University of Lesotho and later went to the University of Boston.
The former minister was at the forefront of a number of initiatives fighting for the rights of people with disability, including starting organisations such as Mohloli oa Bophelo Training Centre for people with visual impairment, the Lesotho National League for Visually Impaired Persons and the Lesotho National Federation for Organisations of the Disabled.
Mr Masemene went to parliament as a Senator in 1993, before he was appointed Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and later Labour Minister.
Mr Masemene is survived by his wife and two sons.