Mehalalitoe star misquoted
The Lesotho Football Association, the management of Kick4Life FC and Senate Letsie express their disappointment in The Post Newspaper in which the player was misquoted and misrepresented in a recent interview with the publication.
All the parties are in agreement that the article headlined “Why Mehalalitoe were hammered”, lacked accuracy, fairness and ethical journalism. The article was also riddled with misrepresentation and falsehood.
Kick4Life Country Director Mr. Motlatsi Nkhahle says their agreement with The Post Newspaper for the interview was to profile Senate Letsie on her journey in the USA, where she was on an academic and soccer/athlete scholarship with Lewis and Clark Community College since 2017.
Kick4life only agreed to the interview on the condition that the interview was going be strictly about what they had agreed on as they are very protective of their beneficiaries and sensitive about interviews they do in the media.
As soon as Senate saw the interview, she contacted Kick4Life in disbelief because the article contained misrepresentation of facts and misquotations regarding what she said during the interview with The Post newspaper reporter. Both Kick4Life and Senate strongly maintain the Newspaper reporter misrepresented and misquoted the player.
The article referred to above also came as a shock to the Lesotho Football Association as it was the opposite of what Senate had said while speaking on behalf of her teammates at the sent-off ceremony for Mehalalitoe, ahead of their departure to the COSAFA Tournament held in Port Elizabeth. Speaking on that occasion, senate had applauded LeFA for all the arrangements and preparations accorded to the team in its preparation for the games.
She even made an undertaking to LeFA that this time around Mehalalitoe were going to bring the trophy as they were more than ready.
In the discussion with the journalist over the issue, she accepted that she had got some of her facts wrong in the article. For instance, it was totally false that some members of the mehalalitoe squad had to withdraw after tested positive for covid-19. Mehalalitoe had no cases of Covid-19 before and during their camp for the COSAFA Cup. The only withdrawal that the team had was that of Litṧeoane Maloro, who injured her ankle two days before the team’s departure.
Regarding Mehalalitoe’s preparation for the tournament, it should be indicated that the team had played several friendly matches including games against South Africa, Botswana, ESwatini and several clubs in South Africa in preparation for the COSAFA tournament before the corona virus pandemic and sudden lockdown.
Football was only given a greenlight to return to action by the Government of Lesotho in October 2020, just a few weeks before the COSAFA Women’s Championship got underway.
However, when all is said and done, what is most important and commendable is that the Lesotho Football Association and the management of The Post newspaper have had a peaceful engagement over the article referred to above and its contents.
The Post Newspaper’s management and the Association have agreed to close this unfortunate chapter in recognition of the fact that mistakes to happen everywhere in the course of execution of duties. Consequently, both LeFA, the management of Kick4life and Senate accept that The Post Newspaper had no ulterior motives in misrepresenting the facts and in misquoting the player. The chapter is as such closed peacefully and amicably between all parties concerned.
