Nat Molomo
MASERU — Two police assistants have filed an application for contempt of court against Commissioner of Police Kizito Mhlakaza. This after the commissioner allegedly ignored a court order granted by the High Court against the police. The police assistants, Puseletso Makhooane and ’Mapaballo Letsosa, had filed an order in September to bar the police from deducting their salaries. The police had justified the deductions by claiming that the two women had been overpaid since they joined the police force in 2002. Police assistants are generally referred to as special constables.
They don’t have the formal training of normal police officers. Justice Semapo Peete had ordered that the police should stop the deductions and refund the two women. In papers filed at the High Court on Friday, Makhooane and Letsosa said despite Justice Peete’s order the Lesotho Mounted Police Service has continued to make deductions from their salaries. They want the court to declare that that Mhlakaza is in contempt of court because he has ignored the order that Justice Peete issued against the police on September 17. Other respondents are the Minister of Home Affairs and the Attorney-General.
They said if the court finds Mhlakaza to be in contempt of court then he should be declared “not a fit and proper person” to continue being commissioner of police. The police assistants said apart from being declared unfit to hold the commissioner’s position Mhlakaza should also be jailed for six months. In her affidavit Makhooane states that she and Letsosa were granted an order that the respondents should stop deducting their salaries on September 27, 2012 after counsel for respondents had sought adjournment so that they could consult with the Commissioner of Police (first respondent).
She states that on September 26, the first respondent was served with the court order and the return of service was filed by the deputy sheriff.
“I aver that at the end of October 2012 I received a salary in the amount of three hundred maloti (M300). I was not paid in terms of the order of this honourable court,” she said. She said she went to the legal office of the police headquarters and was informed that the court order was given to the office of human resources. However, an officer in that office told her that the court order had been wrongly written and she would not be paid her salary as the court had ordered.
“I further aver that the first respondent (police commissioner) knows about this court order and it was served upon him and as such he is contemptuous,” Makhoane states. “I submit that the first respondent puts the administration of justice into disrepute and should not be declared fit to continue as the commissioner of police for the Kingdom of Lesotho,” Makhooane states. She implores the court to find the commissioner of police guilty of contempt of court, or grant her an order which it may deem fit so that justice may not only be done, but shall be seen to be
done. Letsosa in her affidavit aligns herself with what all her colleague has said. The respondents admit some of the prayers by the applicants while opposing others.