By Matšeliso Phulane
The director of MCT Entertainment and member of parliament, Mokherane Tsasanyane, is not backing down on his demand for local artiste Rethabile Nai – otherwise known as Omali Temba – to pay him M2 million for defamation.
Tsatsanyane, popularly known as MCT, took the legal route in response to a series of social media posts by Omali and his manager, which alleged that he (Tsatsanyane) was exploiting artists under his stable and hindering their growth.
In the posts which had tongues of netizens wagging, the pair allegedly challenged Tsatsanyane to desist from boasting about making Omali what he is today.
After Omali (who made the posts under the alias NkaoSheba Eka Hakeaosheba) allegedly ignoring requests to remove the posts from Facebook, Tsatsanyane – though his lawyers – has served the former with a letter of demand.
The letter from PJ& Company Advocates reads: “We have been instructed by Honourable Mokherane Tsasanyane (Hereinafter referred to as client) and write to you under his instructions and authority. Our client is a member of the National Assembly, the director of MCT Entertainment and a renowned businessman.
“We have duly been informed by client that on several social media platforms (WhatsApp and Facebook where you are known as NkaoSheba Eka Hakeosheba) you launched an unjustified attack on client’s persona to will; That client is against youth career progression within the music industry in Lesotho, that client goes around boasting about how he “made” you, and other unprintable statements you made about client in the aforesaid platforms.
“We wish to indicate that those offending statements which you restlessly continue to champion and lead are palpably false and untrue; a fact best known you. You would surely understand that those statements publicised by you have injured our client’s good name within the society as well as globally due to his association with Maru a Pula Modeling. In the same vein the general import of such posts in the two media streams portray client as unethical and dishonest individual; you made these reckless /baseless/unfounded statements with the sole intention to maliciously tarnish his reputation and good name.
“Accordingly, our firm instructions are to demand you, in the next 48 hours of your receipt of his correspondence, make an unqualified retraction and apology that should receive similar prominence as the offending scandalous statements, an undertaking not to further continue to tarnish our client’s name. In default of the above, we shall proceed to courts of laws for redress as it is clear on the facts that unfair treatment towards him can no longer be trivialised. In the event we proceed to court we shall seek damages to the tune of two million maloti costs of suit,” the letter concluded.
Shortly thereafter, Omali posted an apology on the same medium: “I, Rethabile Nai, who goes by the name NkaoSheba Eka Hakeaosheba, wish to retract statements made on social media platforms alluding the hindrance of the Hon. Tsatsanyane on the progress of Basotho youth. I realise now that such statements were unfounded and baseless and therefore, seek to formally apologise and retract my statements.” (sic).
In an interview with theReporter this week, Tsatsanyane vowed to proceed with the demand because he had warned Omali Themba to delete the posts before the matter could be taken up by his legal representatives, but to no avail.
“I am still proceeding despite the apology. I have actually been advised by (musician) Ntate Stunna – my child who respects me a lot. He said, ‘I know how much you have spent on these people by even giving them cars; you need to teach these people a lesson from now’.”
“I am going to consult my lawyers about the way forward, now that he (Omali) has apologised after we threatened him with the demand.
“As far as I am concerned, that apology is no apology and it is not sincere. He was under pressure to make it. I cannot spend two weeks begging them to delete the statements only to soften up now, after they heeded my request after being threatened with a M2 million suit,” Tsatsanyane insisted.
Approached for comment earlier this week, Omali dismissed us, saying: “If you are calling me in connection with the issue of Ntate Mokherane, I have nothing to say.” When this publication called again to get him to confirm if the social media posts and the apology were indeed written by him, he repeated: “If you are going to ask me about that grandpa, I am not saying anything.”
