Nthatisi Thabane, and Mathabo Matsoso were employees of Lesotho government posted at the Ministry of Home Affairs holding offices of Refugee and Migration Liaison officer and Secretary to the then Deputy Minister of Home Affairs respectively. While the third accused is Ensenjor Akinagum, a naturalized Mosotho who was self-employed as the Principal Management Consultant and operating in Maseru Lesotho.
None of the above accused persons are involved in the official processing or granting of the applications for naturalization in the Ministry of Home Affairs Lesotho, but they collectively contacted some of the applicants who had applied for citizenship, and promised to fast track their application procedure on applicant’s behalf. To do so the accused persons demanded that applicants each pay seventy thousand Maloti (M70,000.00) per person per application which is the actual payment for the naturalization process and a further thirty thousand (M30,000.00) as a ‘’drink’’.
Ensenjor Akinagum facilitated contact between the applicants Nthatisi Thabane and constantly conveyed messages back and forth. Nthatisi Thabane later passed messages to Mamosa Matsoso. During that period the accused unlawfully received and kept in their possession monies meant for naturalization certificates from four (4) applicants amounting to two hundred and eighty thousand Maloti (280,000.00) and further thirty thousand Maloti (M30,000.00). The Ministry of Home Affairs has lost M280,000.00 due to accused fraudulent and corrupt conducted.