Kabelo Masoabi
A Mokhotlong man charged with murder has denied any involvement in the killing, insisting that he was falsely implicated by prosecution witnesses and a co-accused who later fled justice.
Fose Chalo is charged with the murder of Letsema Maekane, who was fatally injured at Malubaluba village on 22 June 2019. Maekane was found lying injured on the ground late at night and later died in hospital.
Police investigations led to the arrest of Chalo and Realeboha Mohlahli. Mohlahli was subsequently released on bail but later absconded, prompting the High Court to issue a warrant for his arrest.
Testifying in his defence when the trial resumed last Wednesday, Chalo maintained his innocence, claiming he had been wrongly implicated in the killing.
He told the court that on the night of the incident he was at home, despite the prosecution’s claim that a knife allegedly used in the murder was found at his house.
Chalo testified that while resting on his bed, Mohlahli knocked and entered his home, claiming to have been injured. He said Mohlahli showed him a wound to his stomach with protruding intestines and told him he had been involved in a fight with Maekane, who he said could also have been seriously injured.
“I was very scared,” Chalo told the court, adding that he ran to alert neighbours, who came to witness the situation.
However, he said that when questioned by community members, Mohlahli changed his version and claimed he had been injured by a concrete iron rod while feeding a horse.
Chalo testified that he privately told one person that Mohlahli was lying, as he had earlier said he was injured in a fight with Maekane.
He further told the court that the community arranged transport to take Maekane to Mokhotlong Hospital and that he accompanied them. He said he returned the following day to check on Maekane, only to learn that police were looking for him.
At the police station, Chalo alleged that Mohlahli told officers that he had left the murder weapon at Chalo’s house.
“I was furious because I had nothing to do with the offence,” Chalo testified.
He said both he and Mohlahli were charged with murder and arrested, and that it was only then that he learned Maekane had died.
Chalo told the court he was deeply hurt by the accusation, as the deceased was a brother-in-law to his uncle.
He said that after spending two days in custody, police took them back to Malubaluba village and informed his mother that they were there to collect the murder weapon.
Chalo testified that his mother retrieved the knife from the house and handed it to police, after which they returned to the police station and were again remanded in custody.
He told the court that the last time he saw Mohlahli was when the latter was released on bail while he remained in custody.
“He never explained to me why he killed the deceased,” Chalo said.
The prosecution rejected Chalo’s version, arguing that his testimony was an afterthought and that he was lying to avoid conviction.
The state submitted that Chalo and Mohlahli acted in cahoots and took turns stabbing Maekane with the same knife.
The court heard that five prosecution witnesses — including the area chief and Chalo’s uncle — testified that on different occasions Chalo confessed to them that he and Mohlahli murdered Maekane.
A police officer also testified that it was Chalo, and not his mother, who surrendered the alleged murder weapon.
Chalo disputed the prosecution’s assertions, maintaining that he was being falsely implicated for reasons unknown to him.
The matter, which is before Acting Justice Motebele, was postponed to February 2026, with two defence witnesses yet to testify.
