(MENAFN- The Post)
Former Lesotho Times editor, Lloyd Mutungamiri told the Maseru magistrates' court yesterday that he does not recall the faces of those who shot him.
Mutungamiri said although he saw that there were four men he did not recognise who they were when they attacked him at his house in July 2016.
The crown has since charged Brigadier Rapele Mphaki, Colonel Khutlang Mochesane, Private Nyatso Tšoeunyane and Private Maribe Nathane with the attempted murder of Mutungamiri and malicious damage of his property.
Private Tšoeunyane, a former journalist, worked for the Public Eye weekly newspaper in the late 1990s.
A fifth soldier, Second Lieutenant Mahanyane Phusumane, has since turned crown witness.
Colonel Mochesane has confessed to shooting Mutungamiri in an affidavit when he applied for bail.
He told the court that he“may have shot Mr Mutungamiri while obeying superior Lesotho Defence Force orders”.
Mutungamiri told the Maseru magistrate's court yesterday in his evidence in chief that he only saw four men sitting next to his house in Upper Thamae on his way from work.
He said it was around 11pm when he saw the four men sitting near his house but he never thought they posed any danger.
“I began to realise that I was in danger when they walked past the vehicle I was using,” Mutungamiri said.
He said after he opened the gate to his house and drove inside the yard, he realised that the four men were coming towards him.
“I then decided not to go out of the car,” he said.
He said immediately he felt his head burst as if it had been hit by something strong.
“I was shot on the right cheek and the bullet shattered my lower molar and broke every tooth and I ended up losing my sense of taste, it then went all the way to my ear.”
“I was shot again on my right hand and the bullet broke some of my bones,” he said.
“By that time, I was trying to scream to my wife to inform her not to come outside as I could still hear gun shots. But I could not produce any sound as blood was already going down my throat,” he said.
“I then lost consciousness.”
Mutungamiri said by the time he regained his consciousness, he realised he was still on the steering wheel and his wife was already there with their neighbour crying.
“My neighbour took me and my wife to Maseru Private Hospital. I then lost my consciousness again until when I came to the hospital where I saw someone tearing my T-shirt as it was full of blood.”
He said he was unable to get help and was referred to Queen 'Mamohato Memorial Hospital where they told him he was supposed to be operated to get the bullet out.
“However, they told me the bullet was between the nerves and if operated my brain might be damaged,” he said.
He said he was then transferred to Bloemfontein to be operated despite the risks.
“I got operated on July 18, 2016 for eight hours and my operation was successful.”
He said the left side of his face is still giving him challenges even now.
“I was released and went back to Zimbabwe. All this time, my family was still with me and never wanted to come back to Lesotho as they feared for their lives,” he said.
He said in March 2018 he came back to Lesotho to get some funds to reconstruct his jaws in South Africa, a procedure he said was still going on.
Mutungamiri, led in evidence by the prosecutor Advocate Rethabile Setlojoane, said he could not recall the faces of the men who attacked him.
Like this:Like Loading...
MENAFN16032022000229011070ID1103854930
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.