Pascalinah Kabi
MASERU — Athletes who came out tops in the Mabaleng Half Marathon in June last year have not been paid 11 months after the event, the Sunday Express heard this week.
Ramolefi Motsieloa and Lineo Lebata came out first in the male and female categories respectively in the 21.1-kilometre race.
The two athletes were promised M1 000 each in prize money.
Runners-up Moleboheng Mafata and Sechaba Bohoosi were also promised M800 each.
The two have also not received their prizes.
Mafata told the Sunday Express on Tuesday that the race organiser, Litsitso Thamae, had been evasive each time they had asked him to deliver on his promise.
“At first he would send us an SMS (short message services) telling us to meet him in town so he could pay us our prize monies,” she said.
She however said Thamae would either fail to pitch for the appointment or give excuses later for not turning up.
Thamae’s failure to pay them had caused them a lot of suffering as they would borrow money from neighbours.
“Ntate Litsitso must just stop lying to us and give us our monies because we worked hard for it,” Mafata said.
Efforts to contact Thamae on Tuesday and Friday for comment were not successful.
His phone was picked up by a woman who identified herself as his wife.
The woman said Thamae was in South Africa.
Lesotho Athletics Amateur Association public relations officer, Sejanamane Maphathe, confirmed that there was a dispute between the athletes and Thamae.
Maphathe said they were still chasing after Thamae so that he could give the athletes their dues.
“We are still looking for him. His mobile phone is always not available each time I try to phone him,” he said.
Maphathe added that Thamae had only paid six athletes who took part in the race.
He however said he had initially advised all the top 10 finalists not to accept anything from Thamae unless he was paying them all at once.
“When I first realised that he (Thamae) was experiencing financial problems, I advised all the athletes who are owed to wait until he had raised the whole amount for their prizes,” Maphathe said.
He added that the athletes went against his advice and agreed with him that he pays those that had attained positions three to 10.
The two parties had agreed that the winners and their runners-up would receive their prizes later.