THE area chief of Molikaliko, Ha Tsapane in Thaba-Tseka has taken her grandson to court for allegedly drafting a fraudulent will that named him as the rightful chief.
news
Sept. 14, 2020
NKOATE THAMAE
2 min read
Molikaliko’s chieftainship battle spills to court
The applicant's lawyer KC Salemane Phafane
Chief ’Matsapane Tsapane alleges that when Mahloli Cheba drafted the said will in 1988, he intended to unlawfully succeed her late mother-in-law, Chief ’Maseoli Tsapane who passed on in 1999, aged 95.
The matter which was before High Court judge Justice Moroke Mokhesi on September 10 is scheduled to continue on October 27.
In her court papers, Tsapane alleges that at the time Cheba wrote the illegal will, he took advantage of the late chief who was already too old to make sound decisions.
She said Chief Tsapane was forced to relocate from Ha Tsapane to Ha Matala in Maseru to make room for the construction of the Mohale dam under the Lesotho Highland Water Project (LHWP).
She told the court that Chaba stayed with the late chief in Ha Matala.
Tsapane’s lawyer King’s Counsel Salemane Phafane in his submission argued that the signature reflecting on the will did not belong to the late chief.
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“At the time the will was drafted, the late chief was very old and was not in position to make any well informed decisions,” he said.
KC Phafane further contended that Chief Tsapane was a custodian of Basotho customs and traditions, hence she could not draft a will based on Western’s customs or international laws.
But Chaba’s lawyer Advocate Nthoto Maseko argued that the late chief was of a stable and sound mind when the will was drafted.
Adv Maseko further showed that Chief Tsapane voluntarily abandoned Basotho traditions and adopted Western lifestyle hence; the court should consider the contested will as authentic.
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