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45 Suspended Police Officers Recalled
(MENAFN- The Post)
MASERU
POLICE Commissioner Borotho Matsoso has recalled 45 suspended officers after their criminal cases remained stuck in the courts for years.
Commissioner Matsoso said some of the officers have been on suspension for between“five and eight years” but have continued to earn salaries and benefits.
Matsoso said the government paid nearly M2 million to the officers while waiting for their cases to be finalised. He said the recalls are meant to reduce“the erosion of public funds”.Advertisement
“So, the government was losing big,” he said.
He however said officers facing rape charges have not been recalled.
“The people involved in rape are difficult to convert.”
Among the 45 recalled officers are murder suspects.
Commissioner Matsoso said that the decision was based on a thorough assessment of the circumstances under which each officer found themselves accused of murder
“Some might have carelessly handled the guns and caused the deaths.”
He was however quick to point out that the recalls“do not mean that these police officers are off the hook as investigations are still continuing”.
He said some of the investigations have dragged on for years.
The delays in the police officers' criminal cases is symptomatic of the huge backlog that has choked Lesotho's courts for more than a decade. Some suspects have been on trial for years.
In some instances, the prosecution has been forced to drop cases after witnesses either died or disappeared
Cases of suspects being intimidated or eliminated are not uncommon. Some suspects have also jumped bail or died.
The judiciary has blamed the backlog on the lack of judges and magistrates.
In some cases, defence lawyers and prosecutors have been accused of incompetence or deliberately frustrating cases.
The police too have been accused of rushing to bring suspects to court before completing investigations, forcing the prosecution to keep requesting postponements.
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