Chief accuses army of harassment

A chief in Leribe district has accused the army of harassing his villagers in pursuit of illegal firearms during raids they conduct without him.

The Area Chief for Lekhalong Ha Qamo, Qamo Molapo, said this in an interview with theReporter this week following the release of one of his villagers, Liteboho Mahloane, from the custody of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) since July 4.

His wife, ‘Maleseli, had filed an urgent High Court application on July 7, alleging that the LDF had abducted her husband six days ago.

Mahloane was only released on Wednesday this week after High Court Judge Fumane Khabo ordered the LDF Commander, Mojalefa Letsoela, (first respondent) to release him with immediate effect.

The release came after Justice Khabo had ordered the army to produce Mahloane’s body before the same court on Wednesday. But the army failed to do this, citing Mahloane was too ill to be brought before the court.

The army however, had admitted that Mahloane was in their custody and detained under internal security laws.

In the aftermath of this, the Area Chief for Lekhalong Ha Qamo, Qamo Molapo this week said before Mahloane was ‘abducted’, he had heard rumours about other villagers plotting to call the army officers based at Mokotakoti in Maputsoe to report an alleged possession of illegal firearms by the victim.

Fearing escalation of the matter, Chief Molapo said he organised a public gathering where he had invited the Maputsoe police station commander Khoromeng Sekhonyana, to dissuade villagers from making such allegations against each other.

According to him, it was common practice for soldiers to enter his area under the guise of investigating illegal firearms possession, without first consulting the local leadership.

Chief Molapo said the incursions have caused significant distress among the villagers, making it difficult to distinguish between genuine investigations and abuse of power.

Mahloane’s detention happened just two days after the public gathering, he noted.

“I invited Commander Sekhonyana from Maputsoe because I wanted the police to act on the allegations in order to get to the bottom of the matter.

“I already feared that if soldiers could be involved in this, they would harass the suspect or even other villagers. We have witnessed similar incidents where soldiers harass or torture suspects.

“And since the soldiers have a tendency of harassing the community in this area without coordination from my office, I also pleaded with the police chief to reach out to the army commander (Lieutenant General Mojalefa Letsoela) to inform him that he must ensure that any actions taken by his officers in the area should be coordinated through the Chief, to avoid undue trauma for the community. Any other action besides that is considered illegal,” Chief Molapo declared.

He recounted another incident at one of his villages, Ha Ramoruti, where he said the soldiers have been reportedly harassing the family of one Maruping Letsoela, in search of him for suspected illegal possession of a firearm.

“This is not the first incident. The family members reported to me that soldiers have been going there asking for the whereabouts of Letsoela who is currently in South Africa. They do not even bother coming to my office first,” Chief Molapo added.

In her founding affidavit, ‘Maleseli submitted that her husband was abducted by the LDF members at their home in Lekhalong on July 4 and she later learned that he had been detained at Makoanyane Military Barracks.

Upon arrival there on June 8, she was informed that her husband had been taken to Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital, where she went but could not find him.

“I visited the hospital in search of my husband but was informed that he was never admitted there. I must explain that I received the report of my husband’s whereabouts from one Thapelo Mpiti, that my husband was at Makoanyane Military Base in Maseru and being tortured by soldiers. Mpiti also told me that he was unable to speak as a result, and that he might die. I believe that report to be true and correct.

“My husband’s arrest and detention is unlawful as he is arrested by solders and never taken before a judicial officer within a period of 48 hours (as required by the law),” she submitted.

Efforts to get comments from Sekhonyana and the LDF spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Sakeng Lekola, were fruitless.