…for brutal killing of mother and daughter
…as Thetsane community mourns duo
Seithati Motšoeneng
SPEAKER of the National Assembly, Tlohang Sekhamane, has called for the death penalty for 23-year-old Tlotliso Mohapeloa, accused of brutally murdering his aunt, Hlompho Matsoso, and her daughter, Liteboho, saying Lesotho must not show mercy to people who prey on vulnerable members of society.
Speaking at the funeral of the mother and daughter at Thetsane West yesterday, Mr Sekhamane delivered a scathing condemnation of the killings, describing the violence as particularly disturbing because it was allegedly inflicted by someone who had been raised within the same family.
He questioned how a grown man could abandon his peers and turn against two defenceless women, and whether their desperate cries for mercy had failed to awaken even the slightest compassion in him.
“What happened to these two women was a very bad thing,” Mr Sekhamane said.
“It is worrying that a grown man would leave his peers and go and kill two women. Did their cries not make him feel pity for them while he was still beating them?”
Mr Sekhamane said the continued existence of the death penalty in Lesotho’s laws was deliberate, arguing that society needed protection against people capable of committing such heinous crimes.
“Basotho have not repealed the law on hanging people because they know that people like Tlotliso exist. I wish for him to also be hanged,” he said.
His remarks came as mourners struggled to comprehend the horrific details of the deaths of the mother and daughter, whose lives were cut short in a frenzied attack inside their home.
“What type of a child is such a monster, who is willing to spill the blood of a woman who raised him?” he asked.
“I am not going to tolerate or pity Tlotliso for his evil acts against vulnerable people.”
He said the killings, allegedly involving repeated stabbing and beatings, should serve as a painful reminder that violence against women must never be normalised or excused.
The two women were fatally attacked on 3 November 2026 shortly after Hlompho had retired from public service and the suspect is said to have targeted her pension which he believed was stashed as cash in the house.
Mr Sekhamane urged Basotho to unite against murder and violence, warning that the country’s reputation as a peaceful nation was being threatened by attacks on vulnerable people.
“People need to stand firm and end murders. Lesotho is known as a peaceful country, and we cannot taint our reputation because of small boys with muscles attacking vulnerable groups,” he said.
The funeral brought Thetsane West to a standstill as relatives, neighbours, friends and community leaders gathered to bid farewell to two women remembered for their kindness, warmth and devotion to others.
But beneath the grief was the unbearable reality of how their lives ended.
Mofihli Matsoso, Hlompho’s brother, recounted the disturbing circumstances in which their bodies were discovered on Tuesday morning after garbage collectors arrived to collect rubbish and noticed something was wrong. They alerted a neighbour, who went into the house and discovered the bodies lying in the sitting room.
The family’s account painted a picture of unimaginable brutality.
“The mother had 17 wounds on the head and her daughter had 16 wounds. According to the autopsy report, the mother was burnt on the chest with boiling water,” Mr Matsoso said.
The two women had allegedly been attacked with a knife and a garden rake, while a flower vase was also used in the assault.
The family said it was struggling to accept that someone raised among them could allegedly turn against the very people who had supported him.
“It is worrying that a boy raised by a family could plot against that same family and murder them in such a painful way, in the name of a pension fund that he had not worked for,” Mr Matsoso said.
Hlompho’s other daughter, Neo Matsoso, remembered her mother as a loving parent and devoted Christian, while Liteboho was a gentle and kind young woman.
She said her sister had a distinctive personality and was particularly fond of speaking English rather than Sesotho.
“She was always an international citizen who never spoke Sesotho and always spoke English,” Neo said.
A neighbour, meanwhile, struggled to hold back the emotion as he remembered Hlompho as a woman whose kindness extended beyond her immediate family.
“She was a mother who welcomed me when I first moved to Thetsane West,” he said.
Hlompho, 66, had retired as Deputy Accountant General in August 2026 after years of dedicated public service. She had also served at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was posted to China as Third Secretary between 2000 and 2008.
Liteboho, 27, was an Assistant Lecturer in the Faculty of Design Innovation at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology.
The two were remembered at a memorial service earlier in the week for their professional contributions, close family bond and the lives they had touched.
But the tragedy has left a family and community with questions that no funeral can answer: how two women who should have been safe in their own home became victims of such a horrific attack.
Meanwhile, Mohapeloa and his alleged accomplice, 30-year-old Potlako Khobatha, appeared before the Maseru Magistrates’ Court on Thursday facing charges of murder, theft and housebreaking.
The two appeared before Resident Magistrate Motlatsi Kolisang, with Advocate Keketso Motiki representing the prosecution.
According to the charge sheet, the accused allegedly acted with common purpose on 3 November 2026 at Ha-Thetsane, Lecoop, and murdered Hlompho and Liteboho by stabbing them with a knife and assaulting them with a garden rake, inflicting injuries that led to their deaths.
They are also charged with stealing property, including bank cards and a Volkswagen vehicle belonging to Hlompho. The vehicle was later abandoned at Ha-Matala.
The charge sheet further alleges that the accused gained entry into the house through the roof, accessed the garage and subsequently broke the door leading into the living quarters.
The prosecution told the court that Hlompho had returned home from a trip she had taken with a friend that day after leaving her daughter at home for the week. The killings allegedly took place on the night of her return.
The court directed the accused to approach the High Court for bail through their lawyer and remanded them in custody at the Lesotho Correctional Service.
They are expected to reappear in court on 24 November 2026.
Magistrate Kolisang said police investigations were still ongoing.