’Marafaele Mohloboli
Four men and one woman were shot dead in a bar in Ha Seoli on Monday evening.
It is suspected the shooting was famo-related and all the deceased are believed to have been members of the Seakhi group, whose feuding with the Terene gang over bragging rights has claimed dozens of lives countrywide.
Two of the men and the woman died at the crime scene while the other two passed away at Queen ’Mamohato Memorial Hospital where they had been rushed to by well-wishers.
The woman (24), was a Ha Seoli resident, while two of the men aged 34 and 50 years, were from Mohale’s Hoek and Koro-koro, respectively. The Lesotho Times could not immediately establish where the other two men were from.
Police spokesperson Clifford Molefe confirmed the shooting, which he said took place at around 8pm.
“It happened when two men barged into the shop and opened fire. The shooters immediately fled the scene. However, the motive of the shooting is still not known and the owner of the shop luckily escaped unharmed,” Senior Inspector Molefe said.
However, Snr Insp Molefe said he did not know if the shooting was linked to a raid that took place in Maseru city centre the same day.
“There was a raid (at a certain music production house) earlier on Monday where four men were arrested for possession of a 9mm pistol. Since none of them claimed ownership of the gun they were all arrested,” Snr Insp Molefe said.
Snr Ins Molefe could also not say whether or not the shooting was part of the famo turf-war, which continues to claim the lives of both the musicians and their fans.
“Investigations are underway and a case of murder has been opened, but no arrests have been made as yet,” he said.