CIV\APN\400\92
IN THE HIGH COURT OF LESOTHO
In the matter between:
MACHITJE DAVID TLABA 1st Applicant
'MALITSANE BONIFACE 2nd Applicant
ANDREAS RAFONEKE 3rd Applicant
MOLUOANE MOLUOANE 4th Applicant
MOHLOKI AZEKIEL KHAKHAU 5th Applicant
LENKA ERIC NTSIHLELE 6th Applicant
CAROLINE 'MACHELE MOKENELA 7th Applicant
'MAEMA MAKHETHA 8th Applicant
MOLETSANE RANYALI 9th Applicant
and
T. KULEHILE 1st Respondent
P. NGOSA 2nd Respondent
L. MAFATLE 3rd Respondent
R. LECHESA 4th Respondent
L. LECHESA 5th Respondent
P. MOLAOA 6th Respondent
V. KOTELO 7th Respondent
M. BOSIU 8th Respondent
JUDGMENT
Delivered by the Honourable Mr. Justice J.L. Kheola on the 11th day of January, 1993.
Article 7 of the constitution of Iketsetseng Private School provides that the Annual General Meeting of the Governing Body shall be held within three months of the end of the Financial Year, or as soon thereafter as the Committee may deem convenient; and Special General Meetings may be called at any time by the Committee and shall be called by the Secretary on a requisition in writing from ten members of the Governing Body.
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It seems to me that there was no need for the applicants to have brought this application to this Court. They ought to have made arrangements for a Special General Meeting to be called. At such a Special General Meeting they would have called upon the respondents to call an Annual General Meeting at which a new Committee would be elected. The applicants would have to convince the Governing Body that the respondents' term of office has expired. The applicants have prematurely come to this Court before they exhausted the provisions of their own constitution. They have not spoken to the Committee even in an informal way to ask them when they are going to call the Annual General Meeting of the Governing Body.
I think this is a proper case in which the Court can say the applicants have failed to exhaust local remedies.
The respondents have alleged that the Annual General Meetings for 1991 and 1992 at which they were elected and re-elected unopposed were held and that members of the Governing Body were all given notices addressed to the parents and guardians which were given to each and every pupil at the school to deliver to the parent\guardian. Announcements were made over Radio Lesotho and in all major churches in Maseru. In any case the proviso to Article 8 of the constitution of Iketsetseng Private School is to the effect that nothing done at any meeting
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shall be invalid merely because some members or members have not received notices. The elections which took place in 1991 and 1992 cannot be regarded as invalid merely because applicants did not receive notices.
In the result the rule is discharged with costs.
J.L. KHEOLA
JUDGE
11th January, 1993.
For Applicants - Mr. Sello
For Respondents - Mr. Malebanye.