…apologises to Basotho
Moroke Sekoboto
THE family of slain soldier, Colonel Tefo Hashatsi, has broken its silence over the insults and hurtful comments directed at him and his family, nine years after his death.
The Hashatsi family has also apologised to Basotho in general and to individuals who say they were hurt by Col Hashatsi during his time in the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF).
Col Hashatsi was a prominent and controversial LDF officer who was killed in a high-profile military shootout at Ratjomose Barracks in Maseru on 5 September 2017.
He was killed alongside Brigadier Bulane Sechele and LDF Commander Lieutenant General Khoantle Motšomotšo during an exchange of gunfire.
The incident occurred after Col Hashatsi and Brig Sechele allegedly forced their way into Lt-Gen Motšomotšo’s office. An altercation reportedly followed, during which Lt-Gen Motšomotšo was shot dead. Col Hashatsi and Brig Sechele were subsequently shot by other army personnel.
Col Hashatsi was a prominent and controversial officer in the LDF who became a central figure in the political and military instability that engulfed Lesotho during the mid-2010s.
He reportedly played a leading role in the 29 August 2014 attempted coup against then Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s first coalition government, which included the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD).
He was later identified with the Special Forces operation authorised to arrest former LDF commander, Lt-Gen Maaparankoe Mahao, on 25 June 2015, on allegations that Lt-Gen Mahao was involved in a mutiny plot. The operation ended with Lt-Gen Mahao being shot and killed.
Col Hashatsi’s name subsequently remained closely associated with allegations of military abuses and political interference, making him one of the most controversial figures in the LDF during that turbulent period.
Col Hashatsi and Sechele were later reported to have feared prosecution or being handed over to civilian authorities for alleged human rights abuses, including their alleged involvement in the Mahao case, following recommendations by regional bodies.
Speaking to the Lesotho Times this week on behalf of the family, Matšeliso Hashatsi said the family genuinely regretted the pain allegedly caused by Col Hashatsi.
“As the Hashatsi family, we apologise to Basotho in general and specifically to all those individuals who continue to share posts on social media narrating how Ntate Hashatsi brought pain to them,” Ms Hashatsi said.
She said the family had also seen social media comments from people alleging that Hashatsi had tortured them during a football match between the LDF and the National University of Lesotho (NUL).
“One comment said they were singing about Lt-Gen Kamoli and Col Hashatsi ordered soldiers to beat them up,” she said.
“We just want to tell them that we believe them and apologise on his behalf. As someone who lived with Ntate Hashatsi and saw him even during his last days on earth, I strongly believe he was sorry. He lived with a lot of regrets during his last days. I also believe that if he had been given a chance to undo all his bad deeds, he could have done so,” Ms Hashatsi said.
She also apologised on behalf of Col Hashatsi’s 76-year-old mother, who, according to the family, has herself become a target of insults on social media.
“One of the people I want to apologise to is Ntate Hashatsi’s mother, who once commented that if her son really had a gun during the 5 September 2017 altercation, he could have killed them all.
“It pains me to see such comments about her. As a family, we apologise on both their behalf. We plead with those who can forgive them to stop the insults that we always see in the comments,” she said.
Ms Hashatsi said the family had deliberately remained silent for years in the hope that the attacks would eventually stop.
“We have been quiet as a family for a long time with the hope that, since Ntate Hashatsi is no more, the insults about him would settle,” she said.
However, she said the family was recently hurt by comments on a Facebook post titled Re Hetla Morao, which featured Hashatsi and other soldiers who died on the same day.
“It pains us that a certain social media post, with the heading ‘Re Hetla Morao’, wrote about him and other soldiers who died on the same day. Under the comment section, we saw Ntate Hashatsi and his mother being insulted once again,” she said.
“We plead with everyone and remind them that we have kept quiet all along, thinking that people would stop talking about him. But still, nine years later, nothing has changed.”
“As the Hashatsi family, we still see these comments and it pains us. We plead with those who can stop writing and making such comments about Ntate Hashatsi and his mother to do so.
“We would genuinely appreciate that, as this affects Ntate Hashatsi’s spouse and it may soon affect his 11-year-old child,” Ms Hashatsi pleaded.
