Teenager murdered

’Mantoetse Maama MASERU
— Three boys aged between nine and 15 last week killed a 15-year-old boy in a
dispute over grazing land. The
boys, all from Boleka in Mafeteng district, allegedly stoned the boy and beat
him with sticks. The
boy was grazing his cattle on the fields which the attackers claimed belonged
to their village. A
police detective in Mafeteng, Sergeant Moalosi Lekhehle, said the victim was
allegedly not around when his cattle ventured into the fields. “The
suspects then drove the cattle out of the fields and as they were driving them
the victim appeared,” Lekhehle said. “He
tried to stop the suspects who were taking the cattle by obstructing them. The
suspects then started throwing stones at him.” The
victim sustained serious injuries and was rushed to hospital where he died the
following day.

 Lekhehle said the police were waiting for a
directive from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on how to go about the
matter since the suspects are minors. “The
suspects were not arrested because they are minors. we are still waiting for a directive from the DPP to tell us
how to go about the matter since they are all minors,” he said He
said there are similar cases where people fight for reserved areas while others
fight for grazing land. Last
year in Mafeteng a man from Ha-Lepetje was shot and seriously injured when he
tried to stop another who was grazing his livestock in their reserved pastures. The suspect fled after
firing some shots.