(MENAFN- The Post)
BUTHA-BUTHE
MOLETE Motilinyane, 75, from Manamela Butha-Buthe, briefly appeared before the Butha-Buthe Magistrates' Court last Friday charged with sexually molesting initiation school boys.
Motilinyane, a well-known initiation guru in the area, was remanded in custody after failing to pay a bail of M2 000.
His next remand will be on Thursday next week
Police Constable Ratau Makakole said they attended an initiation graduation ceremony in Ha-Mopeli, Butha-Buthe, where they were tipped off that an initiation teacher had sexually molested his students.
Then they followed that tip off.
P/C Makakole said they met theinitiation school committee of Majakaneng, Ha-Mopeli.
The reports said the committee informed the police that the suspect sexually molested the initiates while still looking after them.
Given the tip off, the police began their thorough investigation that led to the arrest and prosecution of the suspect
P/C Makakole said Motilinyane was also suspected of sexually molesting other initiates in the previous year.
Police reports further showed that Inspector Mokoena Natlane of Butha-Buthe police said a lot of crimes in the district happen at the initiation schools.
And the sad reality is that the initiation school owners do not report these crimes, police said.
Insp Natlane appealed to the initiation school owners not to conceal criminal activities happening at their schools.
He further appealed to initiation committees and the school owners to conduct background checks on prospective teachers before engaging them
He appealed to them to avoid teachers who could engage in criminal activities.
The secretary of initiation schools in Lesotho, Mopheme Mokuena, said he only learnt of the devastating incident yesterday.
He said they are against such acts.
Mokuena argued that they had proposed a law back in 2013 that has to guide initiation schools.
He said the papers for this proposed law are gathering dust in parliament offices
“This proposed law could help weed out all these crimes,” Mokuena said.
This incident comes barely three weeks after the arrest of two men in Mafeteng for a similar crime.
Majara Molupe
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