A LESOTHO High Court judge on Thursday found that the former chief executive officer of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority, Masupha Sole, had a case to answer on all 18 counts of bribery and fraud involving millions of dollars. Sole, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, was indicted in 1999 as a sequel to the alleged payment of large sums into Swiss and southern African bank accounts by international consultants and contractors in return for the award of lucrative contracts. The contracts were for the construction of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project that supplies water to South Africa’s Gauteng province, which includes Pretoria and Johannesburg. Defence and Crown counsel are due to present their arguments on November 29 and 30. – AFP
Thursday November 8, 2001