Dominic Motikoe
Encyclopedia
Dominic Motikoe was a Basotho
politician who led the National Independent Party
(NIP) and served as a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Lesotho
until his death in 2009.
Motikoe was elected to the National Assembly through proportional representation
in the 2002 parliamentary election as the second candidate on the NIP's candidate list, after Anthony Manyeli. He was the party's deputy leader under Manyeli. After Manyeli rejected an offer of alliance from the governing Lesotho Congress for Democracy
(LCD) in November 2006, the LCD instead formed an alliance with Motikoe. Objecting to this, Manyeli took the matter to the High Court of Lesotho; although it ruled in his favor, the Court of Appeal subsequently reversed the High Court's decision.
It was Motikoe, not Manyeli, who selected the NIP's candidates for the February 2007 parliamentary election, meaning that the 21 NIP candidates who won seats were all supportive of Motikoe's alliance with the LCD. The dispute over control of the NIP contributed to an extended dispute regarding the outcome of the 2007 election and the LCD's subsequent control of the National Assembly, which was crucially bolstered by the presence of Motikoe's 21 MPs. Opposition parties wanted those MPs to be replaced by new MPs selected by Manyeli, which would have reduced the LCD's majority to only one seat. Despite Motikoe's support for the government, he was officially designated as the Leader of the Opposition; Tom Thabane
of the opposition All Basotho Convention
(ABC) was thus denied that title, despite the opposition's objections.
Motikoe was shot to death in Maputsoe
on 26 April 2009. According to police, he had "dropped off his female colleague at her home" when her husband, suspecting that Motikoe had been sleeping with his wife, emerged from the home and opened fire, killing Motikoe.
Basotho
The ancestors of the Sotho people have lived in southern Africa since around the fifth century. The Sotho nation emerged from the accomplished diplomacy of Moshoeshoe I who gathered together disparate clans of Sotho–Tswana origin that had dispersed across southern Africa in the early 19th century...
politician who led the National Independent Party
National Independent Party
The National Independent Party is a political party in Lesotho.The NIP was founded by Anthony Manyeli as a split from the Basotho National Party. It performed poorly in the 1993 and 1998 parliamentary elections, but in the election for the National Assembly held on 25 May 2002, the party won 5.5%...
(NIP) and served as a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Lesotho
National Assembly of Lesotho
The National Assembly of Lesotho is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament.The current National Assembly, formed following elections held on 17 February 2007, has a total of 120 members. 80 members are elected in single member constituencies using the simple majority system...
until his death in 2009.
Motikoe was elected to the National Assembly through proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
in the 2002 parliamentary election as the second candidate on the NIP's candidate list, after Anthony Manyeli. He was the party's deputy leader under Manyeli. After Manyeli rejected an offer of alliance from the governing Lesotho Congress for Democracy
Lesotho Congress for Democracy
The Lesotho Congress for Democracy is a political party in Lesotho.In 1997, Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle left the Basutoland Congress Party to form with his faction the new Lesotho Congress for Democracy. The new party won the 1998 elections with 60.7% of the popular vote and 79 out of 80 seats....
(LCD) in November 2006, the LCD instead formed an alliance with Motikoe. Objecting to this, Manyeli took the matter to the High Court of Lesotho; although it ruled in his favor, the Court of Appeal subsequently reversed the High Court's decision.
It was Motikoe, not Manyeli, who selected the NIP's candidates for the February 2007 parliamentary election, meaning that the 21 NIP candidates who won seats were all supportive of Motikoe's alliance with the LCD. The dispute over control of the NIP contributed to an extended dispute regarding the outcome of the 2007 election and the LCD's subsequent control of the National Assembly, which was crucially bolstered by the presence of Motikoe's 21 MPs. Opposition parties wanted those MPs to be replaced by new MPs selected by Manyeli, which would have reduced the LCD's majority to only one seat. Despite Motikoe's support for the government, he was officially designated as the Leader of the Opposition; Tom Thabane
Tom Thabane
Tom Motsoahae Thabane is a Basotho politician, a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Lesotho, and the leader of the opposition All Basotho Convention....
of the opposition All Basotho Convention
All Basotho Convention
The All Basotho Convention is a political party in Lesotho. The party was formed in October 2006 and is headed by Tom Thabane, a former minister in the Lesotho Congress for Democracy led government of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili....
(ABC) was thus denied that title, despite the opposition's objections.
Motikoe was shot to death in Maputsoe
Maputsoe
Maputsoe is a town located in the northern district of Leribe in Lesotho; it shares a border-post with Ficksburg in the eastern Free State. With a population of 36,200 it is the largest city in Lesotho not to be a camptown....
on 26 April 2009. According to police, he had "dropped off his female colleague at her home" when her husband, suspecting that Motikoe had been sleeping with his wife, emerged from the home and opened fire, killing Motikoe.