Moorosi Tsiane
THE much-anticipated murder trial of Democratic Congress (DC) Mekaling legislator, Thabiso Lekitla, has been delayed once more due to late filings by his legal team.
Mr Lekitla stands accused of the murder of Mopeli Rapholo, whom he allegedly shot dead in Lithabaneng, Maseru, on 5 December 2020.
His defence team, led by Advocate (Adv) Motiea Teele KC, had previously indicated their intention to file an application for the recusal of the trial judge, Justice Mabatšoeneng Hlaele.
This follows earlier directives from Justice Hlaele, instructing the defence to file their recusal application by midnight on 6 September 2024, with the Crown’s response due by 10 September, and the defence’s reply expected by 11 September. The court had originally scheduled the hearing for 13 September 2024.
However, when proceedings were set to continue on Friday, Advocate Lepeli Molapo, part of the defence team, requested yet another postponement, citing delays in transcribing previous court proceedings, which had taken longer than expected. The defence acknowledged filing their papers late, having only served the Crown on Saturday, 7 September 2024. Adv Molapo assured the court that their replying papers were ready and would be filed immediately after the day’s proceedings.
“We did not meet the court’s deadline as we were still transcribing prior proceedings. We served the Crown on Saturday, and we are prepared to file our reply immediately after today’s hearing,” explained Adv Molapo.
“We have also discussed the matter with the Crown, and we are proposing the trial resume on 17 September 2024.”
The Crown, represented by Advocate Pelea Joala, did not oppose the request, stating, “We are comfortable with the proposed date”.
Justice Hlaele, noting her strong stance that the case should progress promptly, expressed understanding of the situation.
“The court is adamant that this trial must proceed. However, I accept that there were unforeseen delays in transcribing previous proceedings. I consider this a reasonable cause for the delay and agree to the proposed postponement,” she said.
The trial is now set to resume on 17 September 2024.
This is not the first time the trial has been delayed. The matter was originally scheduled to start two weeks ago but could not proceed when Adv Molapo informed the court that his client, Mr Lekitla, had yet to pay his full legal fees. Molapo had reportedly requested between M150 000 and M200 000 for his services, an amount that Mr Lekitla was unable to pay.
In response, Justice Hlaele ruled that Adv Molapo would represent Mr Lekitla on a pro deo (state-sponsored) basis. However, it later emerged that Mr Lekitla did not qualify for such representation, leading to further delays as the defence requested time to resolve?the?payment issues.
Following the resolution of the payment issue, the defence then sought a private meeting with Justice Hlaele in chambers on 5 September 2024. Afterward, Adv Teele KC informed the court of their intention to file a recusal application, seeking to have Justice Hlaele removed from the case. This prompted yet another postponement as the defence prepared to file the application. The recusal application has yet to be heard. With the next hearing scheduled for 17 September 2024, the question remains whether the case will finally proceed or face yet another postponement.