Moorosi Tsiane
A VICTIM of a 2014 shooting incident near Tlali Kamoli’s Ha Leqele, Maseru, residence this week relived a horror incident when he nearly lost his life.
Tšepo Jane survived death by a whisker when he and his friend, Lisebo Tang, were brutally shot by soldiers guarding Kamoli’s Ha Leqele residence on 9 May 2014.
Ms Tang was not so lucky however. She died upon arrival at Makoanyane Military Hospital after Kamoli’s guards opened a volley of fire on their vehicle. Their only crime was to have parked near Kamoli’s home during a time the army commander regarded himself as a law unto himself after his reinstatement to the helm of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) by the then Pakalitha Mosisili led coalition government. Kamoli was to later allegedly murder his predecessor Maaparankoe Mahao throwing Lesotho into crisis.
Mr Jane told Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane this week that he escaped death by a whisker after two soldiers who were guarding Kamoli’s home opened fire at his vehicle which he had parked close by the ex-army chief’s home.
He said Kamoli had then visited him and told him the army would “take care of him” while he was recuperating in Makoanyane Military Hospital.
Mr Jane had been badly injured while his friend, Ms Tang, with whom he had been driving succumbed to his gunshot wounds.
Two soldiers; Corporal Tjekane Sebolai and Private Selone Ratšiu, are on trial for the murder of Ms Tang. They also face an attempted murder charge over Mr Jane’s near fatal shooting as well as malicious damage to property charges for damaging his vehicle.
Narrating his ordeal before the Chief Justice, Mr Jane said he had on that fateful day, after knocking off from work, had a couple of drinks with Ms Tang, a certain Mr Jomo and another lady whose name he said he could no longer recall.
He said at around 10pm, while taking Ms Tang home, he had passed by his other friend, one Lucas’s place in Ha Leqele. When he approached the latter’s home, he noticed that Lucas’s car was not parked outside and he assumed he was not at home.
He returned to his car to proceed with the Jane with Ms Tang. As he was approaching Road 14, which connects Ha Leqele with Ha Nelese, he said he parked the car to take a pee and smoke.
“After peeing I returned to the car and Lisebo shouted that she was seeing soldiers. As I was still trying to decode what she was saying, I heard gunshots and I attempted to open the car door but I fell…
“The shooting took some time before it stopped. I was in so much pain and I cried for help. I called Lisebo but she did not respond,” said Mr Jane.
Mr Jane said after few minutes he saw a soldier slowly approaching him. He said that soldier asked for his name, and he responded and also asked the soldier to check on Ms Tang.
“I could not move; I also could not identify the soldier as he was covering his face with a hat. He went to the side on which Lisebo was and opened the door. Another soldier wearing private clothes arrived and he said I was badly injured I should be taken to the hospital.
“As we drove off to Makoanyane, we passed near my place and I told them to stop and tell my family they shot me but they said I should clam down and Lisebo was by that time still moaning with pain. But when we arrived at the hospital she was no longer moaning.”
Mr Jane said he was sedated upon arrival at the hospital and woke up after two days only to find out that Ms Tang had died.
“While at the hospital, I was always surrounded by the soldiers but, they avoided answering my question as to why I had been shot. Later on, one soldier told me that I was shot because I was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.
Mr Jane said Kamoli had also visited him in hospital and told him to stop driving at night. The ex-LDF boss also told him not to worry as the army would take care of him.
“The army indeed took care of my medical expenses until I was discharged. Some police officers also came while at the Hospital to take my statement,” he said.
The trial was started de novo (afresh) before Justice Sakoane this week after a Botswana judge, Justice Kabelo Lebotse, who had been roped in by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to preside over this and other high-profile cases, resigned in May 2020 over alleged poor working conditions.
Justice Sakoane took over the matter in 2022 but the trial was disrupted by several postponements caused by various factors including the unavailability of the accused who at one point were deployed with Lesotho’s peacekeeping contingent in northern Mozambique. There has also been a change of prosecutors.
The matter was initially prosecuted by Advocate Lepeli Molapo until Adv Motene Rafoneke took over sometime last year. The two soldiers are represented by Adv Sello Tṧabeha. The case continues on .
