MASERU — The late Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Commissioner Malefetsane Nkhahle was laid to rest at Kokobela Village in Maseru West yesterday. Speaking at the funeral service held at the Lesotho Evangelical Church at Sefika, King Letsie III described Nkhahle as a dedicated public servant who served the country with passion, commitment and loyalty.
The King said Nkhahle helped the IEC deliver credible and peaceful elections. ‘’I am proud to have been one of those who knew him,’’ King Letsie III said.
He said he first met Nkhahle at the Maseru City Council (MCC), where they worked together.
‘’That is where I met Ntate Nkhahle and I am a witness to all the good qualities which have been said about him,’’ he said. The King also commended Nkhahle’s wife for having been a pillar of strength during his challenging job as a commissioner, saying without his wife’s support, he could not have succeeded. He urged the family and his wife to always look up to the Almighty as their source of hope and strength during this period. Speaking on behalf of the prime minister, Minister of Forestry and Land Reclamation Khotso Matla described Nkhahle as a “tidy man”, a characteristic he believes that he could have inherited from his parents.
Matla said he first met Nkhahle as a young man at Hlotse, where the late Commissioner’s mother worked as a nursing sister and noticed his tidiness up until recently. The IEC chairperson Limakatso Mokhothu said Nkhahle’s untimely death was a blow to the commission. She said Nkhahle was behind the Commission’s restructuring process and new registrations. Mokhothu urged politicians to appoint commissioners who will reform the IEC and take further the restructuring process started by Nkhahle. Among the multitudes of people who gathered to bid farewell to Nkhahle were government ministers, former Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, government dignitaries and commissioners from other neighbouring countries.
Nkhahle died on January 6 on his way to hospital after experiencing difficulties with breathing. He was born at Mokhotlong district on November 20, 1952. He is survived by his wife and three children. — Lena
Comments are closed.