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.
The blame for this debacle clearly lies at the feet of that Sophie woman. Hitting out at the man who co-started this charity and who has personally donated 1.5M and has been instrumental in raising money for years seems rather salty to me. Something else seems at play here.
This British press narrative that Meghan should be involved in Sentable is very weird. These same people get upset when she goes to Invictus. What are trying to get at here? And why is the Telegraph talking to somebody who’s not Seeiso’s brother?
“ Dr Margaret Ikpoh, an East Yorkshire-based GP” 👀
Since the CC is interviewing past and current trustees, she’s in the firing line. Resigning after just a month?
Wonder how she got nominated, and whether she has any dodgy dealings…🤔
Yeah, I’m not buying her reason for resigning. She joined after the whole issue blew up in the media.
Probably any trustees onboarded after the board left en masse are not in compliance with governance rules if Sofie appointed them. This new trustee probably left knowing the CC would say that in their future report. The board appoints trustees and there no doubt is a quorum threshold for board votes which they did not have. I wish these rags would do at least the smalkest amount of due diligence on this stuff before reporting this garbage.
Sophie fell out with the first board. Could be a repetition of that.
She decided that she didn’t want to burn down her entire career and become a social pariah on an international stage, for the sake of propping up the bad decisions of an unhinged woman who is so obviously jealous that Harry picked Meghan and not her.
Imagine that.
Like many people, she decided to get out before the investigation shows plenty of what the Board and Harry and Sessio said. Why burn your career down for Sophie?
Also what the heck. The man isn’t his brother, why publish this mess.
Dr Margaret Ikpoh quit after a *week*.
Appointed to the board on March 25th, resigned on April 2nd — as per her entry on the Sentebale site at Companies House.
Something doesn’t pass the smell test.
Prince Seeiso only brother is the King, and that was not the King speaking to that reporter.
Is it possible that this is a brother from another mother, so to speak? Honest question because I have no idea about this family’s situation. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Chief Khoabane Theko is a NOBODY!
He does not even have a Wikipedia entry!!!!!
They put a correction : “This article previously reported that Chief Khoabane Theko is the brother of Prince Seeiso of Lesotho. This was incorrect. Chief Theko is the chief whip of Lesotho’s Senate, and a senior and influential member of the College of Chiefs and the royal family. We are happy to correct the record.” but they still say that he is part of the Lesotho royal family so I do believe that this is just The Telegraph journalists being terrible at their job, not knowing a thing about Lesotho and hoping that people would not notice. I mean, the commentaries are mostly just there to bash Meghan as usual so I guess people who read The Telegraph don’t really care about good journalism.
Bet you any thing this person has a connection to Sophie, and that lady has an unhealthy obsession with Prince Harry and an even deeper obsessive hatred of Meghan.. imo the press has made Meghan an easy target for con artists like these to scapegoat, shame on them for allowing it.
Very common in sub Saharan Africa for men who know each other well to say “he is my brother”. It was confusing for me for the first few months when I took the statement at face value.
Giving that he is giving a statement that is meant to be a reflection of his relationship to Prince Seeiso, that isn’t an appropriate or good move to falsely claim relation to the Prince and not make it clear that you aren’t his actual brother. It was said in this article so that it could have more of an impact, so it would be a very poor choice to not make such a distinction. It makes it seem more nefarious than genuine. To also claim to remember “so vividly” what Harry said once and not be able to quote it word for word, is also disingenuous and seems more nefarious.
It isn’t common when speaking to journalists. Especially not for educated classes. The first and last direct relational link this man appears to have had with the King or Prince was in the 1800s with King Moshoeshoe I.
I would guess this has more to do with laziness on the journalist’s part.
Meh. This is very benign compared to all the batsh*t crazy stuff they usually publish. Saying Meg didn’t go to Lesotho or Harry shouldn’t have resigned is mild in the big scheme of things.
There is a really uncomfortable thread of people in Prince Harry’s life that seem to resent the fact that he wanted his own family. Like they are upset that he didn’t want to spend his entire life in service of others with no thought to his own personal happiness. Their reaction to him prioritizing something outside of them is so possessive. I thought it was just the Windsors because of their laziness, and the cult like atmosphere and set up of the Royal Family, but more and more it feels like people saw him as theirs and not a real human being with wants and desires of their own.
It’s weird given everything that you know has been going on in that man’s life for the last 5 years, to be upset that you no longer were the priority but his wife, his children, his safety, and establishing himself financially. Also to be upset at his wife like she stole him from you.
It’s especially weird from this guy, who I imagine is Prince Sessio’s ” brother” in the same way that people describe Nacho as Harry’s brother. Why be angry that Harry stepped back, and that he went to Botswana and Nigeria with his wife, as if he belongs to your country solely and can’t go anywhere else. Harry has made it really clear that he spent a lot of time in Africa specifically in Lesotho because he was trying to escape his life in England. Not that he didn’t love his time or the people there, but that it provided him a place to get away from all the stuff that he hated at home. He’s not trying to escape his life in California. He’s happy, and friends of his should be happy for him too? It just really comes across like a lot of people feel like Harry’s life, his work, his celebrity, is supposed to be used in support and benefit of them to the exclusion of himself.
Yes, it’s like the whole world is a toxic mother-in-law – “You stole my baby!!”
🎯👏🏼
Thank you for writing all this out. I often think about the way people are obsessed with Meghan but it’s true of Harry too. This idea that he belongs solely to you and you are angry that he now has a family and other commitments. It’s so weird frankly.
This is a really great insight into the situation.
The thing that doesn’t line up with this man’s issue with Harry stepping down from this charity that he created in honor of his late mother, is that wouldn’t the same issue be directed towards Prince Seeiso who also stepped down from this charity that he created in honor of his late mother as well? It doesn’t make sense that he has an issue with one of the two princes when they did the exact same thing. From what I recall he spent a lot of time in Botswana following the death of his mother and it was where he could escape from the media and intrusion. His time in Lesotho was during his gap year and beyond, which he spent time there to also build Sentebale with Prince Seeiso. Harry and Meghan spent lots of time in Botswana at the beginning of their relationship because it was an important place for him and they could go there without any media intrusion at that time. Once their relationship became public any traveling anywhere has become nearly impossible without media attention or focus from others.
Exactly! Why say you’re upset and confused about one prince’s actions but ignore another prince doing the *exact* same thing? Perhaps, as another commenter said, Sophie & co. really weren’t expecting Harry (and his money) to leave. But this gentlemen being a willing participant in the British media’s continued attacks on Harry (and Meghan) is shameful. There’s no excuse for it.
These are exceptional points, @DEE(2). It explains so much.
This grown man doesn’t seem to have an understanding of what it entails to be a newly married man; what it means to marry a woman who is of an age babies need to be made now or possibly never; picking up a paper to notice the harassment they were undergoing; new parents. Also, he was actively fund raising and had other very public responsibilities. Distance. And new responsibilities and jobs with his new home country. Covid.
All good reasons for Harry’s absence.
The lengths they will go to smear Harry at the behest of Peg is astonishing!!! Peg needs some serious therapy. You can tell it’s Peg because he wants to blame Meg for everything!!
So, Chief Theko, who is the chief whip of the upper parliament, didn’t know Harry had visited Lesotho twice since he got married? I don’t know what to make of that. Sophie’s dropped off the map, hasn’t she? Maybe her attorneys have advised her to keep quiet.
Yes, this was confusing. What is the story, here?
There are lots of obsessed Derangers M&H haters. But there are lots of obsessed and entitled M&H supporters. Just as in the case with Meghan’s initial launch of her numbered jam jars, people got in their feelings as to which number they received. People feel entitled to a certain amount of the Sussex’s time. They see reports of them here or there and think to themselves (or state in an interview) hey, why aren’t they here, why don’t they visit me more. They seem to forget that for the first time in a Royals life, Harry has a real job that is not paid out of the UK tax payers funds.
Ummm, the man said Harry should have visited more and yet he wasn’t even aware that Harry had in fact visited twice since getting married. Despite fleeing the uk, losing his security, a global pandemic and experiencing two births and a miscarriage. Riiiight.
In my opinion these people are using Meghan because they know to attack Harry attacking Meghan is how to hurt him.
But why should Harry visit Lesotho more? Doesn’t this guy’s “brother”, the co-founder of Sentebale live there? Seeiso should be able to handle things in Lesotho. This guy also doesn’t know how often Seeiso and Harry talk or correspond. Botswana is also covered by Sentebale, so why shouldn’t Harry visit there? And what does Meghan have to do with it at all?
So to sum up the contradictory criticisms thrown at the Sussexes:
-Meghan should have gone to Lesotho and visited Sentebale but she shouldn’t have attended a polo match that raised money for Sentebale.
-Prince Harry’s brand is toxic and bad for Sentebale but Sentebale suffers if he doesn’t visit regularly.
-Harry shouldn’t have gotten himself married but he should have brought his wife to Lesotho.
-Sentebale should be managed by Africans locally not by white savior princes but Harry leaving the Royal family caused harm to Sentebale.
-Polo matches shouldn’t be the way to raise funds but Sentebale has no other way to raise funds and that’s Harry’s fault.
Also there’s always a brother.
“ Also there’s always a brother.”
Yup, lots of Cains around.
In my opinion, Sophie Chandauka did not walk away from this nonpaid position because she plans to make it a paid position. And since Harry was the one bringing money in, she didn’t expect him to walk away and is attempting to shame Harry into coming back to the org he built with Seesio in honor of their mothers.
It’s so weird how Harry is expected to be exceptional to everyone always but never to his OWN family. The way some never wanted him to have his own life is so evil.
I don’t know who this man is, but the description of his position indicates he should be of reasonable intelligence. Anyone possessing two working brain cells, and who is not simply intent on attacking Meghan, is able to fathom the treadmill that H&M have been on since they became a couple. There are not many people in this world who could survive what they have been through and still be standing.
They met, fell in love, got engaged, did royal engagements, got married, got pregnant, did 3 very successful royal tours,, had a baby, got abused by a whole assed country authorized by his family, forced to leave his home and escape to Canada, had their security and safety compromised, escaped to America during an active pandemic, had a miscarriage, had another baby, endure continued abuse from afore mentioned whole assed country and internet trolls, established multiple businesses and philanthropic projects, take 2 international trips, 3 successful Invictus Games, fundraise for Sentabale, deal with numerous lawsuits, just to name a few. AND THESE PEOPLE ARE STILL STANDING!!!
When the hell were they supposed to jet over to Lesotho show off Meghan!!
This charity was established a long time ago. Meghan wasn’t involved at all. The tabloids are working really hard to make this about her, but it falls flat because it doesn’t make any sense. I think Sophie (anyone else involved) really want to get the attention off of the investigation and hope people will forget it. That’s not going to happen.
Who is feeding this “brother?” Who found him? Harry raised money every year for Sentebale. I wondered if he was the sole support. He donated $1.5 million of his book deal to Sentebale (probably covid prevented him from playing Sentebale Cup. I think some premieres in London sometimes had a Sentebale attachment. Harry has worked tirelessly for this charity. I know they are going to bide their time until the Commission does it’s investigation, but this is so outrageous.