THE horror that unfolded in Pitseng last week is not an isolated incident — it is the latest and most jarring display of an army that has repeatedly overstepped its mandate and brutalised the very people it is meant to protect.
The Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) has once again imposed itself into civilian policing, and the result is humiliation, violence and severe trauma of ordinary citizens.
What happened in Pitseng was neither a security operation, nor a crime prevention exercise. It was a military raid executed with the mindset of an army in a battlefield, not an exercise to maintain law and order in a civilian community.
Villagers — teachers, farmers, fathers, and elders — were rounded up, beaten, forced to roll in mud and degraded in ways that no democratic society should tolerate.
Residents recount that up to 30 soldiers stormed the village at dawn, knocking on doors and demanding information about livestock theft. But, instead of gathering intelligence the soldiers went on the rampage, unleashing brutality.
Men were ordered to lie down on the ground and brutally assaulted with sticks. Others, including teachers who are respected figures in the village, were forced to roll in mud like fugitive criminals.
One resident was dragged out of his home half-dressed, and was not even allowed a moment to turn off his gas stove, while another teacher ended up seeking medical care for injuries inflicted by the very institution that claims to be defending the nation.
Villagers are now nursing wounds; physical, emotional and psychological. A teacher who helped spearhead a crime prevention group that worked with the LDF, who was among the victims of torture, now says he feels betrayed and humiliated.
His relationship with the community and students has been shattered, all because the rogue soldiers deemed violence to be more effective than due process in curbing cattle rustling.
This was torture carried out under the guise of a military operation that shouldn’t even have been allowed to take place without police guidance or legal oversight.
While today the spotlight is on Pitseng, incidents of soldiers carrying out extra-judicial acts of violence are nothing new in Lesotho.
In September last year in Ha Lebese, Berea, area chief Lesaoana Masupha was allegedly beaten so severely by soldiers that he ended up in the ICU at Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital. Two herd boys from the same village reportedly died after being tortured by the same group of soldiers.
These are not baseless allegations floating around as complaints have been filed, families have mourned and communities have lived in fear.
Earlier, in July 2024, the army was once again accused of the abduction and violent assault of Liteboho Mahloane in Leribe. Soldiers allegedly broke his arm and leg, detained him illegally and held him without charge until a High Court habeas corpus order forced his release.
These incidents form a clear background: whenever the army imposes itself into civilian matters, chaos ensues. The violence in Pitseng is therefore not surprising, it is the logical outcome of a defence force operating without decisive civilian oversight or respect for constitutional boundaries.
The Constitution is clear: the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) is not a policing agency. It exists to defend the state, not to terrorise villages, assault teachers or torture unarmed civilians.
When the LDF takes on policing functions, disproportionately harsh tactics are inevitable because soldiers are not trained in community policing, conflict de-escalation or investigative procedures. They are trained for combat, which is why every time they conduct raids on civilians, the results are predictable: bloodied bodies, broken bones and broken communities.
The police, despite their own challenges, operate under laws designed to protect civilians, ensure accountability and uphold rights. The army does not. And the blurred line between these institutions has become a breeding ground for impunity.
The Pitseng incident demands more than outrage. It demands action. Without decisive action, the LDF risks permanently losing its legitimacy. Communities cannot trust a defence force that behaves as though ordinary villagers are enemy combatants.
The people of Pitseng will remember the terror they endured. Their dignity was stripped away in broad daylight, while their trust in state institutions has been ruptured. And for what? No suspects were lawfully apprehended, no stolen cattle recovered, and no substantive policing work conducted — only violence.
The LDF must step back and allow the police must take up their rightful role. And civilians must be protected, not brutalised.
The Pitseng torture is not only a national shame, but also a national warning. Either Lesotho reins in its military now, or we risk sliding once again into a dark era where force, not law, governs the land.
