…allegedly to target four officers while shielding other two
Kabelo Masoabi
THE murder trial of four police officers accused of murdering suspected criminal, Sempe Molapo, has been thrown into fresh controversy, with the defence accusing a senior police investigator of tampering with the case docket, suppressing evidence and deliberately targeting four officers while shielding two others allegedly involved in the fatal assault.
Senior Inspector Thabiso Daemane, who led the investigation into Mr Molapo’s death in 2019, faced an intense cross-examination in the High Court at Tšifa-li-Mali, Leribe, where defence counsel, Advocate Christopher Lephuthing, accused him of presiding over a compromised investigation designed to protect alleged perpetrators and prosecute the wrong suspects.
Adv Lephuthing alleged that witness statements disappeared from the docket, exhibits were not accounted for and investigators bullied witnesses into making statements implicating the four accused officers while excluding two others identified as Kabi and Molise.
The four accused — Detective Sergeant Tsebiso Sebehela, Detective Tšeliso Rammoana, Constable Khosi Matsoso and Constable Mokhethi Monyane — face murder charges arising from the alleged fatal assault of Mr Molapo after his arrest in February 2019.
Snr Insp Daemane, now stationed at Mokhotlong Police Station, rejected the allegations, insisting that no evidence had been removed from the docket and that he acted on the direction of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
But the defence came out swinging, describing the investigators as a “corrupt syndicate” and accusing them of manipulating the investigation to protect “their favourites”.
Adv Lephuthing told the court that two other officers, identified as Kabi and Molise, were allegedly involved in the same events but were never charged.
The defence further accused Snr Insp Daemane of removing crucial evidence from the docket, including a statement given by Mr Molapo’s younger brother, Bosiu Molapo, and replacing it with a second statement allegedly obtained by investigators from Leribe Police Station, also known as Hlotse Police.
According to the defence, investigators allegedly bullied the witness into giving a fabricated statement implicating the four accused while excluding Kabi and Molise, whom the defence claims were the actual perpetrators.
Adv Lephuthing described the investigators as part of a “corrupt syndicate” and argued that the alleged manipulation of witness statements and docket evidence seriously undermined the integrity of the investigation.
Snr Insp Daemane rejected the allegations.
During cross-examination, he explained that investigators from Leribe were brought in to assist because the officer commanding Qholaqhoe could not independently investigate his juniors without creating a potential conflict of interest.
He maintained that no evidence had been removed from the docket and said the case file had remained in his possession for the past six years.
Snr Insp Daemane also testified that he arrested the accused officers on the directive of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
He told the court that immediately after the incident, he was uncertain whether members of the Sheshe community or police officers should be charged because the preliminary information available to him did not establish who had assaulted Mr Molapo.
“The police officers who arrested the deceased claimed that members of the community had assaulted him before they apprehended him, while the community members alleged that it was the police who assaulted him,” Snr Insp Daemane said.
He said he subsequently consulted the DPP to determine who should face charges.
“I consulted the DPP to make a determination on who should be charged, and the names of the accused persons before the court were submitted,” he said.
Events leading to Molapo’s death
According to evidence before the court, police officers responded to a call regarding a liquor outlet in Qholaqhoe, Butha-Buthe, which was allegedly operating beyond permitted trading hours.
Tensions reportedly escalated after Mr Molapo confronted the officers, accusing them of harassing law-abiding citizens while failing to recover livestock allegedly stolen from him.
The situation deteriorated further when a beer bottle was allegedly thrown at police officers, triggering a confrontation between the police and community members.
Several people were arrested, while Mr Molapo initially managed to evade arrest.
After leaving the area and later returning to Qholaqhoe, Mr Molapo was eventually apprehended by police with the assistance of community members who had allegedly been led to believe that he was evading arrest in connection with a sexual offence case.
Alleged assault and death
The prosecution alleges that after his arrest, Mr Molapo was taken to an area near Qholaqhoe High School, where he was placed under a tree and assaulted with sticks by police officers.
State witnesses, including Mr Molapo’s younger brother, Bosiu Molapo, testified that he and their father attempted to intervene but were also assaulted.
Struggling to hold back tears while testifying, Bosiu told the court that one officer allegedly told Mr Molapo: “This is the last beating you will ever receive. That wife of yours will now be ours”.
He further testified that before Mr Molapo was taken to hospital, he (Molapo) said it was the police who had assaulted him.
“He was so weak that he could not walk on his own. There was foam around his mouth,” Bosiu told the court.
“When the accused and other police officers who are not before this court were assaulting him and us, they threw the deceased into their vehicle. My father and I were handcuffed. The officers claimed we were fighting them when we tried to free my brother. Mr Sebehela (first accused) pointed a gun at my father’s forehead. I told them they might as well kill us all, and the beating intensified before they took us to Qholaqhoe Police Station.”
According to the testimony, when Crown witness, Eddie Thenesse, questioned Mr Molapo about what had happened, he responded with what were said to be his final words: “It is the police officers who assaulted me”.
Mr Molapo was later taken to a clinic near the police station, where he was declared dead.
The court also heard that Mr Molapo’s father, Sera Molapo, who had been detained following the incident, has since died.
Investigation under scrutiny
Following the incident, former Police Commissioner, Holomo Molibeli, reportedly established a task team comprising officers from Leribe Police Station to investigate the matter.
However, the defence has accused the investigating team of manipulating evidence and omitting crucial witness statements from the official investigation records.
During the cross-examination of Snr Insp Daemane, Adv Lephuthing challenged the integrity of the investigation diary, alleging that entries had been falsified, including details relating to when information about the alleged offence was first received and when witness statements were recorded by Lance Sergeant Raphoka of Leribe Police Station.
Adv Lephuthing argued that the investigation diary contained misleading information intended to protect certain officers while implicating his clients.
The defence also maintained that a statement by witness, Tefo Masoabi, had disappeared from the investigation records.
“The first State witness has said Inspector Thibeli, who was commanding Qholaqhoe Police Station, arrived at his home and took a statement. Then several days later another police officer, whom he said was hostile, arrived and bullied him to make another different statement that you are embracing, which was made by Hlotse team (Leribe),” Adv Lephuthing put to Snr Insp Daemane.
“The first statement of one Tefo Masoabi is not in the diary which records progress of investigation. Only the second one is available.”
Adv Lephuthing then accused Snr Insp Daemane and the Hlotse investigation team of abusing their positions and deliberately pursuing the wrong suspects to protect “their favourites”.
“You together with the Hlotse team were promoted after doing all this shameful work. You were promoted to the title of Senior Inspector. You abused the power of your office to charge the accused when you knew the perpetrators.
“It is not unusual for the Lesotho Mounted Police Service to be run by corrupt syndicates. In this case where you were supervising investigations, a statement disappeared, exhibits disappeared, people were made to sign incorrect statements, wrong people were charged and those who killed were insulated,” he said.
Snr Insp Daemane strongly rejected the allegations.
“You are lying to this court,” he replied.
Adv Lephuthing pressed further, questioning whether the absence of statements linking his clients to the alleged assault could undermine the prosecution.
“When statements are missing, the accused must apply for permanent stay of prosecution. In all the statements in the docket, which one links the accused to the matter?” he asked.
Snr Insp Daemane, seemingly irritated, briefly responded: “The court will decide”.
Missing weapons questioned
The defence also questioned the failure to produce weapons allegedly used in the assault on Mr Molapo.
“In your 23 years as a police officer, isn’t it an institutional embarrassment to the police authority that you come to court without exhibits in a murder case you were investigating… You see how pathetic your investigations are?” Adv Lephuthing asked.
Snr Insp Daemane said he had been unable to recover the weapons because the accused officers exercised their right to remain silent when questioned about the exhibits.
“I wish I could answer you the way I wanted, but in respect of this court I say I did not find the weapons because the accused officers decided to practise their lawful right to remain silent when I questioned them about the exhibits,” he said.
The matter, before Acting Justice Tšooana Lesaoana, continues.