The Sentebale stories have slowed down in the past week and a half, ever since Sophie Chandauka made it clear that she has a very strange obsession with the Duchess of Sussex, and Chandauka was briefing blatant lies about Meghan. I have no idea if Chandauka’s bizarre behavior around Meghan is the root of all of this mess, but I suspect Meghan is just being used to attack Harry. Speaking of, the Telegraph published a completely weird hit piece on Harry and Sentebale this week. The paper extensively quotes Chief Khoabane Theko, whom the Telegraph describes as “Prince Seeiso’s brother.” But… Prince Seeiso only has one brother, King Letsie III. Seeiso also had a sister, but she passed away in 1994. Why is Chief Khoabane Theko claiming to be Prince Seeiso’s brother and why didn’t the Telegraph fact-check this aspect of Theko’s biography? I guess the Telegraph was just desperate to smear Harry by any means necessary, to the point where they’re just referring to a random man as “Seeiso’s brother.”
“Seeiso’s brother” speaks: Chief Khoabane Theko, Prince Seeiso’s brother, said he was “perturbed” when the Duke and Duchess took holidays in Africa but failed to visit Lesotho. Speaking to The Telegraph a few minutes’ drive from Sentebale’s Mamohato Children’s Centre in Thaba Bosiu, the chief suggested the Duke of Sussex could have visited “more often”. He said: “When [Sentebale] was launched, I remember his words quite vividly, because he was very strong in saying ‘my mother, this place, her passion about Africa’ and all that.” The chief, who was not aware Prince Harry had visited Lesotho twice since his marriage, said: “He’s a loved figure because of his openness, but his loss of interest has totally killed the spirit of the Sentebale’s survival. I haven’t seen him [Prince Harry] since he got himself married.”
One of Chandauka’s trustee appointees resigned: Dr Margaret Ikpoh, an East Yorkshire-based GP, was named a trustee last month following the mass resignations of Prince Harry and the board. However, she stepped down earlier this month in the wake of intense scrutiny prompted by the bitter boardroom row. A Sentebale spokesman said: “This is a particularly difficult time to have joined the organisation, given the unexpected sustained and intrusive media attention.
“She has chosen to step down out of respect for her family and other professional commitments, which we fully understand, respect and support. We deeply appreciate her interest in Sentebale over a long period of time and look forward to staying in touch.”“Seeiso’s brother” certainly has some talking points: Chief Theko, who is also chief whip of the upper chamber of Lesotho’s parliament, said it was “strange” that the Duke had himself left the charity over the row. He said: “I’m surprised that he’s relinquishing the [charity] at this stage when one expected that he would jealously guard it, because it’s under his mother’s legacy and I thought he would want to die for it. Unless, maybe, he is prepared to come after and come fix it and get it back because I do not believe it comes easy to him to want to give it up, like he’s doing – it’s a little bit strange for me.”
Chief Theko on Meghan: “Did she never come to Lesotho, Meghan? No she hasn’t. So it seems like she’s a far-away person for us, we do not know about her…I was surprised to see them come to Botswana but not Lesotho, knowing what they have in Lesotho would be bringing them closer to our shores. But they returned from Botswana and I was a little bit perturbed by that.” Asked if he thought the couple would visit Lesotho more frequently, Chief Theko said: “I thought they would do that more often, because he’s been visiting a lot of African states after their marriage.”
This has been a weirdly consistent thread throughout the past month: “why didn’t Meghan visit Lesotho/it means something significant that she hasn’t visited!” Like… she was pregnant off and on for several years (and on the 2019 South Africa trip, she was only five months postpartum), then the pandemic was a real thing hindering travel, and now the Sussexes are on their kids’ school schedule. These are also the reasons why Harry had not traveled to Lesotho in several years – the pandemic, his young family, etc. But why in the world are they making any part of Sentebale about Meghan? And why was Chandauka so deeply and profoundly angry at Meghan after the polo game last year? Why are all these people obsessed with Meghan? It’s bizarre. Additionally, why is this man calling himself Seeiso’s brother and why are they blaming Harry for Chandauka’s disaster?
PS… When Harry took meetings at the UN last fall, he met with Seeiso’s actual brother King Letsie III and they greeted each other with a warm embrace and a lot of love.
Photos courtesy of Getty.