’Mantoetse Maama

MASERU — A 28-year-old mentally ill man from Lithoteng allegedly killed his 59-year-old uncle with a chain-saw two weeks ago, according to the police.

Senior inspector Rethabile Sehloho from Lithoteng police station said they were still investigating the incident which happened on May 27.

According to the suspect’s mother, Tefelo Mosuhli, her son was “behaving very strangely that day”.

“He was sitting outside the house in the evening where he made a huge fire. When I asked him to come inside the house as it was cold he flatly refused,” Mosuhli told the Sunday Express yesterday.

“He threw stones at an unfinished house nearby saying there was something that he wanted to hit there.

“He was very angry and one could see that he was actually fighting something,” she said.

Mosuhli said her son had a history of mental illness but had recently appeared to have recovered.

He had since stopped taking his medication, she said.

The mother said her son came into the house holding a chain-saw that he had used to cut some firewood and tried to hit his uncle with it.

The uncle fled from him.

“He then went after him again and this time managed to hit him on the head twice. I started screaming for help upon witnessing this,” Mosuhli said.

She said some neighbours later came to her brother’s rescue but her son was still fuming with anger.

“We took my brother to Queen Elizabeth Hospital as he had sustained serious injuries. He was admitted but died the next day.”

The neighbours had to guard the furious son until the next morning when they took him to Mohlomi Hospital.

“If we had realised it earlier we could have asked neighbours to help us take him to the hospital,” Mosuhli said.

The suspect is now at Mohlomi Hospital where he is receiving treatment.