(MENAFN- The Post)
MASERU
VILLAGERS in Nqechane, Leribe, were last Saturday allegedly assaulted and forced to roll on the ground by
soldiers during an operation to retrieve illegal guns.
Narrating the ordeal, the village headman Chief Leja Kukune said he heard his dogs barking furiously in the middle of the night.
When he rose to check, he was met by soldiers at the door
“I half-opened the door and talked to the soldiers who asked me if I was the village chief,” Chief Kukune said.
“I told them that I was just a headman under the area chief,” he said.
They instructed him to collect all the village men and take them to Romeng, some 30 minutes' walk for a gathering.
“I asked them what kind of gathering was going to be held at night.”
Chief Kukune said he asked the soldiers to allow him to go back into the house to put on more clothes because it was chilly that night
When he got out of the house, he saw some men coming with soldiers who were flaunting guns.
Chief Kukune said the soldiers drove them to Romeng where the brutal assault started.
“The soldiers asked who Leja was and I responded that it was me,” he said.
He said the soldiers separated him from other men and told him that they had three issues with him.
“They asked me to produce a gun,” he said
Also, they told him that he is a member of a banned famo music group in the country.
Thirdly, they asked him why he holds public gatherings without informing his area chief.
Chief Kukune said he told the soldiers that he had only applied for a gun which had not yet been approved.
He said he told the soldiers that his area chief had failed to preserve the pastures.
“I told them that l had successfully preserved the pastures,” he said
While still being interrogated, other men were being beaten up and made to roll on the ground as they were told to hand over illegal guns.
“Some were limping while others sustained serious injuries,” the chief said.
“Those who had come home for the holidays hurriedly left even before their holiday's time had ended claiming that they were no longer feeling safe in the village,” Chief Kukune said.
He said there is no banned gang in his village but a group called Likhamane that is not associated with famo.
“This association looks after needy people and buys them some presents,” he said
The army spokesman, Major Kelebone Mothibi, said they had“a successful operation in Leribe where we found
one unlicensed firearm and five bags of dagga”.
“There is unrest in the village where the area chief, who is a female, has been attacked at night when she tries to bring order in the area,” Major Mothibi said.
“We did not torture them but we reprimanded them,” he said.
Majara Molupe
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