Lesotho - Blood-thirsty gangs

MASERU – A former gangster from Sehlaba-Thebe in Qacha's Nek died in a horror movie style in Maseru last month.
His alleged murderers, two men from a gang he left when he reportedly repented and became a good citizen, are said to have stabbed him with a knife and sucked his blood as it oozed from his wounds.
The police say the horrific murder was part of the gang's culture to hoist its flag or symbol in the area to signify its presence in the area.

The notorious gang, known widely in Lesotho and South Africa by the number of 26, is believed to have a culture of killing and drinking the blood of its victims.
The two men, Tene Mofolisa, 24 of Sebapala in Quthing district and Bonang Qobose, 25 of Ha-Thetsane in Maseru, have since appeared before the magistrate's court charged with murder and theft.

Police say they received a tip-off between 5am and 6am on November 5 that the gangsters had just killed a person at a shebeen in Lekhalong, Ha-Thetsane.
When they arrived, the police found that the victim's throat had been slit.
Deputy police spokesperson, Sub-Inspector 'Mareabetsoe Mofoka, said the community gave them leads in the case.

She said the police followed up on the leads and arrested the two men with assistance of the community.
Sub-Inspector Mofoka said investigations revealed that Mofolisa was the one who actually stabbed the deceased and slit his throat.

She said the two men were also linked to the theft of a television set worth M14 000 in the nearby village of Ha-Ratjomose. They sold the TV for just M3 000 in Qoaling and had just received M1 600 as part payment from a buyer.
The other accused, Qobose, was out on bail after he allegedly killed another person at the beginning of this year.
Police reports say Qobose had met the deceased along the way and killed him.

Sub-Inspector Mofoka said two other suspects are still at large.
She said investigations have uncovered information indicating that the gangsters had to hoist their flag as part of their culture.
“To do this, they had to kill a person. They had to shed blood,” Sub-Inspector Mofoka said.
The accused were remanded in custody.

They are part of eight gangsters that the army is hunting after the murder of a man in Naleli, in the northern part of Maseru city.
Following the death of the Naleli man, the army issued a list of the eight wanted gangsters.
The army asked the eight gangsters to hand themselves over to the police or to their chiefs.

A culture of gangsterism, which is characterised by merciless killings and theft, is vastly growing in the country.
This culture is rife in Maseru but it is also spreading to other districts of the country.

School-going children are also adopting the harmful and toxic culture, according to the police.
While the security institutions, the police and the army, admit there is a huge problem, the community says the government is failing to protect them from heavily armed thugs.

The soldiers nabbed and handed over three gangsters from Motimposo and Ha-Tšiu to the police recently. The gangsters were wanted by the police in connection with the killing of a man who was staying in Naleli.
Captain Sakeng Lekola of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) said the three men had allegedly killed another who was part of the gang but quit after the rehabilitation by the army earlier this year.

The three-month rehabilitation programme saw the army counselling youngsters caught up in gangsterism. The youths were also taught life skills.
Captain Lekola said the suspects also injured the brother of the deceased and left him paralysed. They also damaged some property at the family of the deceased, he said.

He said the fourth gangster was handed over to the army by his family.
He said they did not have a budget for about 60 gangsters that they rehabilitated for three months hence they released them quickly from the Makoanyane Barracks where they were training and being counseled.
“We just did it,” Captain Lekola said.

He said they would continue helping other institutions to maintain peace and stability in the country.
The three gangsters the army handed over to the police have since been charged with murder, grievous bodily harm and malicious damage to property.

Because their charges include murder, they were remanded in custody.
They are expected to appear before the High Court for their bail application next Wednesday.
The MP for Berea, Motlatsi Maqelepo, said residents are gravely worried by the unfortunate incidents happening in the areas of Koalabata, Naleli and Sekamaneng. The villages fall under his constituency.
Maqelepo said Koalabata has now turned into a fertile breeding ground for criminals.

He said he met the Mabote Police Station Commander to discuss the issue with members of the community.
“It is our wish as the MPs to see people living in peace and tranquility,” Maqelepo said.
Maqelepo said residents are“undeniably afraid of these gangsters”.
As one of the measures to combat the problem, Maqelepo said he advised the police to increase visibility in the area.

“I have spoken tirelessly and endlessly about the killings in parliament that they should be declared as a state of emergency,” he said.
“The motion was passed in parliament that the killings be regarded as a state of emergency,” Maqelepo said.
He said the police should be equipped with resources so that they are able to thoroughly investigate gang-related murders.
He said the police should be given cars to enable them to timeously attend to crime scenes.

He said it is unfortunate that the gangsters are attacking those who were reformed by the army.
“This is about political will,” Maqelepo said.
The MP for Mabote, Fako Moshoeshoe, who is also chairman of the social cluster in parliament, said he is working together with chiefs, councillors and community members to identify thugs in the villages.
He said they have already handed over some gangsters to the LDF because the army had shown interest in“transforming” them.

He said the challenge is some parents who hide their children who are illegally in possession of dangerous weapons.
Moshoeshoe said the relevant ministries should help to draft a Bill that will protect citizens from gangsters.
The problem, he conceded, is that“the police treat every murder case as an ordinary case of murder while there is a dire need to categorise crimes in such a way that they get to the root of gangsterism”.

Parliament, he said, should come up with a law that will enable the police and the courts to give gang-related crimes special attention instead of treating them as“just ordinary crimes”.
Moshoeshoe said it is not easy for MPs to bring a private member's Bill to parliament because it is costly hence the need for relevant ministries to use their technocrats to draft the law.

Army spokesman Captain Sakeng Lekola said it is worrying that the reformed gangsters from villages of Koalabata, Motimposo and Naleli were murdered by their former colleagues.
He called on parents to hand over their children who are members of the gangs so that they too are rehabilitated.
Villagers have voiced concern over the killing of rehabilitated gangsters.
Captain Lekola said they are“looking for the remaining boys who are currently on the run”.

“We initially wanted to arrest them for rehabilitation earlier this year but they escaped,” Captain Lekola said.
“They are now back in the community and have regrouped to continue their evil acts that put lives at risk,” he said.
Captain Lekola said in the past weeks the gangsters killed one of their rehabilitated boys and also seriously injured his younger brother.
“He cannot speak after that attack. He is paralyzed,” he said.
“We have received intelligence that the boys are now after the rehabilitated ones, they are attacking them,” he said.

Majara Molupe & Nkheli Liphoto

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