Mahali Phamotse

Mahali Phamotse
Leader of the United Africans Transformation (Lesotho)
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 December 2023
Preceded byPosition established
Member of the National Assembly of Lesotho
for Matlakeng
Incumbent
Assumed office
2022
Minister of Gender and Youth, Sports and Recreation
In office
2017–2022
Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
In office
2016–2017
Minister of Education and Training
In office
2015–2017
Personal details
Born1969 (age 56–57)
Ha Shepheseli, Lesotho
PartyUnited Africans Transformation
Other political
affiliations
EducationNational University of Lesotho

Dr. Mahali Phamotse (born 1969) is a Mosotho politician. She is the member of Lesotho's National Assembly for the Matlakeng constituency and has held several cabinet portfolios, including Minister of Education and Training and Minister of Justice and Correctional Services.[1] In 2023 she was expelled from the governing Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party, but retained her constituency seat, and subsequently became the leader of the Lesotho branch of United Africans Transformation (UAT).

Early life and education

Phamotse was born in Ha Shepheseli, Lesotho, in 1969.[2] Before entering politics, she worked as a schoolteacher and later lectured at the Lesotho College of Education and the National University of Lesotho.[3]

Political career

Early career and 2015 election

Phamotse entered electoral politics in 2015 as a Democratic Congress (DC) candidate for the Matlakeng constituency. She narrowly lost the general election but entered the National Assembly through a proportional-representation seat and was appointed Minister of Education and Training in the coalition government formed after the election.[2] She later served as Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, and by 2017 also held the Ministry of Gender and Youth, Sports and Recreation while representing the Alliance of Democrats.[3] Independent press coverage from the period confirms she held the gender, youth and sports portfolio, including a 2019 report on a FIFA presidential visit to Lesotho.[4]

Matlakeng MP and expulsion from the RFP

Phamotse won the Matlakeng constituency seat for the Revolution for Prosperity at the 2022 Lesotho general election. In August 2023, she and two other RFP MPs, Thuso Makhalanyane and Rethabile Letlailana, were suspended from the party for six years after voting with opposition parties in parliament.[5] Phamotse and Makhalanyane challenged the suspension in Lesotho's High Court.[6] The RFP's national executive committee formally expelled the three MPs at a party conference on 30 September 2023; Phamotse said she believed she was also targeted for inviting opposition leaders to a celebration in her constituency.[7] Because she held the seat as a directly elected constituency MP rather than through a party-list proportional representation seat, her expulsion from the RFP did not affect her membership of parliament, and she has continued to sit as Matlakeng's MP since.[7][1]

2020 corruption charges

In February 2020, Phamotse was charged with corruption alongside her former Principal Secretary, Mapaseka Kolotsane, and former Deputy Principal Secretary, Ratšiu Majara, in connection with the Ministry of Education and Training's 2015 tender for high-school textbooks and teachers' guides.[8] Prosecutors allege that, while serving as Minister of Education and Training, she acted together with Kolotsane and Majara to improperly influence the awarding of the tender to Epic Printers and Molumeli (Pty) Ltd, including by amending the bid document's experience requirements.[9] The case, prosecuted under Lesotho's Prevention of Corruption and Economic Offences Act, has faced repeated delays over discovery and pre-trial procedure; as of the most recent reporting it had not gone to trial and was scheduled for a hearing in August 2026, more than six years after charges were filed.[9][10]

Leader of UAT Lesotho

Following her expulsion, former RFP activists who had registered a Lesotho branch of the South African party United Africans Transformation invited Phamotse to lead it. She accepted in a letter dated 3 December 2023 and was introduced as the party's leader at a media briefing in Maseru on 5 December 2023.[11][12]

Russia scholarship programme and defamation suit

In January 2025, Phamotse announced a UAT-sponsored programme to send Basotho students to study in Russia, through a partnership between the party and Synergy University in Moscow.[13] The scholarships covered tuition fees of over M35,000 per student, with parents responsible for accommodation and food, and were offered across fields including medicine, engineering, agriculture, and information technology.[14] Phamotse described the programme as reviving a long-standing history of Basotho studying in Russia dating to before Lesotho's independence.[14] The programme prompted a public dispute with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, then led by Lejone Mpotjoane, whom Phamotse said had publicly compared the initiative to human trafficking.[13] She sued Mpotjoane for M3 million in defamation damages in 2025, then withdrew the suit in April 2026, saying she did not want damages paid from public funds since he had been sued in his official capacity; Mpotjoane's legal team denied defaming her, saying his remarks were a general warning about studying abroad rather than being directed at her specifically.[13] Despite the dispute, Phamotse maintained that the programme proceeded, with students travelling to Russia after following normal procedures, and that a subsequent radio interview saw Mpotjoane acknowledge no procedural flaws in the initiative.[13]

Other activities

In September 2025, Phamotse personally sponsored a M5.4 million, three-year package for Lesotho's third-tier B Division football league, in recognition of which the league was renamed the Dr Mahali Phamotse B Division League.[15] In August 2026, as UAT leader, she petitioned the South African UAT's leader, Bantu Wonder Mahlatsi, to press for legislative changes affecting Basotho migrants in South Africa, including easier movement rights and clearer permanent-residency pathways for holders of the Lesotho Special Permit.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 "11th Parliament". National Assembly of Lesotho. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Mahali: a rebel with a cause". Africa-Press Lesotho. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Honourable Dr Mahali Agnes Phamotse". Wp2032. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "Africa must change perceptions-FIFA boss". Lesotho Times. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Rebel MPs fight back". The Post. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "Lesotho: Phamotse, Makhalanyane Challenge Suspension". allAfrica. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Mahali says it's game on!". The Post. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "Phamotse charged with corruption over 2015 books tender". Lesotho Times. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Corruption case against former minister scheduled for hearing". Lesotho News Agency. 12 May 2026. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "Corruption trial stalled, Judge slams "unready" case". Lesotho Tribune. 16 November 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  11. ↑ Mohlomi, T'soloane (6 December 2023). "Phamotse officially launches new party". Informative News. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Mahali UAT leader". Lesotho News Agency. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Mokhopi, Hopolang (4 May 2026). "Phamotse withdraws M3 million defamation suit against Mpotjoane". Sunday Express. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  14. 1 2 "United Africans Transformation Party Sends Basotho Students to Study in Russia". Lesotho.co.ls. 28 January 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  15. ↑ Letsunyane, Litsitso (21 September 2025). "Dr. Mahali Phamotse Injects Over M5 Million into Lesotho Football's B Division". Lesotho Tribune. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  16. ↑ Sekoboto, Moroke (4 August 2026). "Phamotse petitions SA counterpart over Basotho immigration rights". Lesotho Times. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
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