Thabane
told the villagers that it was up to the people to decide if capital punishment
should be practised. “We
still have capital punishment (on our statute books). The law provides for the
execution of a person who murders others. It is up you the people to order the
government to put that law into practice,” Thabane said to applause from the
crowd. “You
will decide if the government should be in favour of the victims of crime or of
the murderers by being lenient to them,” he said.
He
was quick to emphasise that the punishment should be left in the hands of the
courts of law. He
ordered the police to crack down on criminals. “The
police should be tough to combat crime. So should the people by reporting
criminal acts to the police. We want to reduce cases of crime to zero. We
cannot give birth to children and leave them to be cut into pieces by
lunatics,” he said. Yesterday’s
prayer meeting follows the brutal murder of a 13-year-old boy, Moholobela
Seetsa, in January. Seetsa’s
mutilated body was found in a donga near the village. Some of his body parts
were missing. Two
weeks ago in an almost similar incident, a 20-year-old Kamohelo Mohata was also
killed in Koalabata. Mohata’s
body was recovered from a pit latrine at Koalabata Primary School. Other
body parts were found at various places.
’Malehlohonolo
Scott, 54, and her 25-year-old son, Lehlohonolo Scott, have since been arrested
in connection with Mohata’s death. The
two are in police custody.
Superintendent
Sehlabo Makhakhe yesterday said while Mohata’s death was unfortunate it might
lead to the killer of Seetsa.
“When
the police were called and studied the manner in which the second victim was
murdered, it quickly reminded us of Moholobela’s death. The manner in which
they were killed were so similar. We knew then we could have found Moholobela’s
killers as well,” Makhakhe said. He
thanked the Koalabata villagers for demonstrating restraint in dealing with the
alleged killers. In
January members of one family had to flee for their lives when angry villagers
attacked them when they suspected they could have been behind the killing of
Seetsa. The
villagers attacked the house, smashed the windows and tried to set it on fire.
Police
had to guard the house for a few days. Makhakhe
said the public should work closely with the police to crack down on criminals. “It
is with your help that we can be able to arrest criminals so that the law can
take its course. We are thankful for the information we got from a member of
the public who led us to the suspects in Mohata’s death. Canon
Lebohang Khekhe of the Anglican Church of Lesotho said Basotho needed to pray
hard to cast away evil spirits in the village and across the country. “We
are on a war path. We have to fight hard to overcome Satan and the evil
spirits. We are a Christian nation. What kind of Christians are we that we let
such horrific acts happen within us?” Khekhe said. Simone
Masemene of the Lesotho Evangelical Church (LEC) said young people are being
lured into sadistic acts for the love of money.
“Our
children are being drawn into demonic practices because they are promised
riches and lots of money. We should pray to God for their healing.” The
prayer services started at Cenez High School in Koalabata. The procession went
on to Koalabata Primary School where the clergy and the people gathered around
the latrine “to cast away the demon” where Mohata’s body parts were retrieved.
The
prayer session was attended by church leaders, cabinet ministers and senior
government officials, Christians from different denomination and the general
public. The
CCL public relations coordinator, Potjo Potjo, said the prayer session was a
success. “We are very happy with
the attendance. It is not every day that you see Christians from different
denominations gathering together. We hope this is the beginning of the union
because we can only conquer evil spirits when we all do it together,” Potjo
said.
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