Date
7/11/2023 2:11:25 PM
(MENAFN- The Post)
At least 213 people have been murdered in Lesotho over the past five months. The shocking statistics were revealed by Home Affairs and Police Minister, Lebona Lephema, as he answered questions from Senators last week.
The staggering numbers come a few weeks after the government imposed a short-lived, deeply unpopular and ineffective curfew to curb rampant crime. Lephema however insisted that the curfew was effective.
At the time of imposing the curfew, the government reported that at least 40 people had been murdered in three weeks.
The minister's revelations also puncture holes into the government's narrative that it is winning the battle against crime.
Put differently, the numbers show that at least 42 people were killed every month between January and May. That is 10 people per week.
Yet the figures could be higher because the police's record-keeping is patchy and there is generally little follow-up to record those who die days later after injuries.
The gory statistics further consolidate Lesotho's dubious distinction as a country with the third highest murder rate in the world.
Lephema blamed the murders on the police's lack of patrol vehicles.
“I am even thinking of buying them horses,” Lephema told the Senators.
Lephema said the government will soon buy cars and open a workshop at Mabote Police Station to repair broken vehicles.
The minister also made another shocking revelation when the Senators asked what the government was doing to reduce gun violence.
He said some Chinese business people“are selling guns in their supermarkets”.
Although he did not give further details, the minister said he recently instructed the police to close supermarkets and arrest“certain Chinese people”.
The minister said the police have started confiscating both licensed and unlicensed guns.
Lephema said the police held several meetings with their South African counterparts to fight murders and human trafficking.
Lesotho's porous borders make it easier for people to smuggle illegal guns from South Africa.
“We are even thinking of holding joint operations to find the illegal firearms that are used in South Africa and later smuggled to Lesotho or vice-versa.”
He complained that the police work hard to arrest crime suspects but the courts release them after paying paltry bail. It is common for a murder suspect to be granted a M500-bail.
Some of the suspects immediately skip bail and disappear in South Africa.
Those eventually caught can spend years fighting extradition.
He said the government wants to confiscate all the guns, even from the senators, to inspect and give them back with digitalised licences.
He also said the police will also establish a call centre for people to report crimes.
“We will compensate people who give us information,” he said.
Nkheli Liphoto
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