. . . victims forced to roll in mud
. . . as army hunts down cattle rustlers
Kabelo Masoabi
RESIDENTS of Pitseng are reeling in shock after a violent early morning raid by members of the Lesotho Defense Force (LDF) on Thursday this week.
Soldiers arrived in the village in the morning on a mission to combat growing livestock theft, particularly triggered by the latest incident in which a widow lost five cattle to unidentified rustlers.
According to the area chief, Majara Khethisa Tau, from Khoaba-La-e-ja-Bohobe village in Pitseng, the soldiers swooped through the village, knocking on doors and pressuring residents for information that could lead to the identification and apprehension of the thieves.
Mosiuoa Khanare, a teacher at Pitseng L.E.C Primary School, who was on his way to his fields recounted how he stumbled upon a group of soldiers who promptly ordered him to head towards the Lits’ilo football ground.
Upon arrival, he found other local men already assembled.
From that point, Khanare said, the situation escalated dramatically. Elderly and frail men were spared while up to 30 soldiers ordered the remaining men to lie down on the ground and began to assault them with sticks.
The villagers’ ordeal continued as they were forced to roll in the mud, leaving them covered from head to toe in thick, brown sludge.
In an interview with the Sunday Express, he said, “My whole body is sore and aching. The soldiers’ brutal tactics left us with both physical pain and deep humiliation.”
Mr Khanare said the harrowing events have left the community traumatised, with the assaulted villagers nursing wounds in the aftermath of this shocking display of violence.
“As for my colleague, teacher Motlatsi Molapo, the last time we spoke, he was receiving treatment at Motebang Hospital in Hlotse,” he added.
Speaking from the hospital, Mr Molapo reported that he obtained a medical examination report to submit to the police as evidence of the injuries he sustained from an encounter with the army.
Despite this, he expressed skepticism about the need for him to take further action to engage the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF).
Mr Molapo expressed disappointment saying he has been LDF’s point man in the village, after he spearheaded the formation of a crime prevention group which has constantly maintained communication to update soldiers about crime in his community.
Molapo described the severity of his beating, noting that he sustained wounds on his elbows and is experiencing excruciating pain on the buttocks.
He lamented the humiliation he felt as a teacher and how this incident has turned him into a laughing stock within his community, which adds to his emotional pain.
Another teacher at Lisuoane Primary School, Mr Phoka Selapane, similarly recounted a chilling encounter with the soldiers.
As he was heating water on a gas stove in preparation for a bath, two soldiers violently knocked on his door.
Clad only in boxer shorts and slippers, Mr Selapane was unprepared for what was to come.
“A soldier armed with two rifles — a smaller one and a larger one — barked orders at me, demanding that I quickly get dressed and go with them,” he recalled.
Another soldier, exhibiting a particularly aggressive demeanour, didn’t even allow him to turn off the gas stove, ordering him to follow them immediately.
“What if my house had caught fire and burned to the ground? Who would have been held accountable for that?” he said.
Once at the football field, Mr. Selapane described the brutal treatment he endured. He was forced to lie on the ground while being struck with a stick, a painful humiliation followed by the degrading command to roll in the mud.
“I was also made to sweep the dusty ground using dagga leaves. I have no idea where that dagga came from,” he said, the humiliation palpable in his voice.
In a separate but equally distressing account, another resident, Mrs ‘Matlakisa Koebu, shared, “Our husbands were subjected to severe humiliation, leaving them psychologically and physically paralysed. This is not an effective way to fight crime. Innocent people are suffering, including those who have come forward to report their missing livestock.”
However, some members of the community expressed support for the soldiers’ aggressive tactics.
They argued that in the fight against escalating crime, a ruthless approach is sometimes necessary.
“Residents know the thieves among us, yet they choose not to report them to the authorities,” Ms. Moipone Makoboto said.
This divided opinion in the community underscores the complexity of fighting crime, revealing a community torn between a desire for safety and the cost at which it comes.
When asked for a comment, LDF spokesperson, Captain Sakeng Lekola, said the incident has not been reported to his office.
Police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent Mpiti would neither confirm nor deny whether Pitseng Police Station was aware of the incident and if a case had been lodged against the military.
“The police and military do conduct joint operations, but the army also operates independently under their own mandate,” Mopeli said.
He promised to provide further information but his mobile phone was unreachable by the time we went to print.