High Court Judge Maliepollo Makhetha deserves commendation for the clarity, firmness and moral courage reflected in her sentencing of Mohau Matele to 38 years’ imprisonment for the brutal murder of Mahali Lekheloha.
This was not a crime of passion, intoxication or misunderstanding. It was a killing rooted in sexual entitlement — the grotesque belief that a woman’s body can be purchased with alcohol and violence deployed when consent is refused. By naming this for what it is, Judge Makhetha sent a powerful and necessary message: refusal is not provocation, and entitlement is not excuse.
In a country grappling with endemic gender-based violence, this judgment matters. It signals that the courts are increasingly prepared to confront the misogyny that underpins so many violent crimes against women. The judge’s rejection of the accused’s self-serving denials and her emphasis on the absence of remorse demonstrate a judiciary that understands the broader social harm inflicted by such crimes.
Yet, as welcome as this sentence is, it must also provoke an uncomfortable question: is 38 years enough?
When women are murdered for asserting autonomy over their own bodies, society is not dealing with ordinary homicide. It is confronting a sustained assault on half its population. In such cases, life imprisonment should not be controversial, but expected.
Deterrence matters. Rehabilitation matters. But above all, protection matters. Sentences for gender-based murders must be so severe, so unequivocal, that they leave no doubt that Lesotho has zero tolerance for violence against women.
Judge Makhetha has shown the right direction. It is now incumbent on the courts, lawmakers and prosecutors to ensure that such firmness becomes the norm rather than the exception. Women should not have to die for the justice system to prove that it takes their lives seriously.
Justice has spoken — but the conversation must not end here.
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