…after Matelile street fight
Hopolang Mokhopi
A Matelile woman, Matšeliso Fosa, has accused police officers of brutally assaulting her and other residents following a fight between two boys near her home on Saturday afternoon – adding to a growing list of alleged police brutality incidents in Lesotho.
Ms Fosa said the incident occurred around 1pm on Saturday in Matelile, Mafeteng, as she was preparing to travel to Maseru.
According to her account, several police vehicles arrived in response to reports of a fight and allegedly began assaulting youths gathered outside her yard.
“They stopped in front of my gate and immediately started beating the young people who were outside,” Ms Fosa said.
She further alleged that the officers then turned on bystanders who were preparing to leave for Maseru from Matelile.
“One police officer approached us, shouted at us, ordered us to kneel down, and started beating us,” Ms Fosa said.
“At first, I thought they didn’t want us to witness what they were doing, but they were actually beating other people.”
Ms Fosa said she was shocked to be assaulted despite not being involved in the altercation.
“I even asked one of the officers why he was beating me because I had done nothing wrong. I was not part of the fight, but I was told I had been ululating during the fight,” she said.
She explained that she had been inside the house when the altercation broke out and only went outside after hearing a commotion. She added that one of the boys involved in the fight had been struck with a fighting stick (lebetlela) and later taken to hospital.
Despite the violence, she claims the police left the scene without making any arrests.
Ms Fosa said attempts to report the matter locally were unsuccessful after they were informed that the nearby police station was closed.
She later travelled to Maseru, where she reported the incident at Police Headquarters.
“I was warmly received and told that investigations would be conducted,” she said.
She has since called for accountability.
“Police are supposed to protect us, not assault us. What they did was wrong and they must be held accountable,” she said.
The incident comes amid mounting public concern over allegations of excessive force by police officers, with several past cases ending in lawsuits against the state. In recent years, victims of alleged police brutality have sued the government for damages.
However, LMPS spokesperson, Superintendent Thabo Mohai, said he had not yet received a report of the Matelile incident.
