Mohalenyane Phakela
OWNERS of night clubs in Maseru say soldiers should not be allowed into night spots in the wake of the Sunday night storming of Club 4fordy in Khubetsoana by unknown assailants who assaulted patrons.
Witnesses claim the assailants were likely soldiers, but the allegation has since been refuted by Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) spokesperson Brigadier Ntlele Ntoi.
“The LDF does not have any uniform similar to the one which is said to have been worn by the men who assaulted people in Khubetsoana. So there is no way that they are members of the army,” Brigadier Ntoi told the Lesotho Times this week.
Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent, Clifford Molefe said it was not possible at this stage to identify the perpetrators since no one had been arrested in connection with the incident.
This is the third incident of this nature since last year when patrons at Setsoto and Litaleng clubs in Ha Matala and Lehakoe respectively were also beaten up.
There has been a pattern in which the incidents occur after a soldier would have been beaten up for causing trouble only for assailants to come the next day and indiscriminately beat up patrons as a retaliatory measure.
The latest incident followed a case in which a soldier was reportedly stabbed on the hand at Club 4fordy on Saturday night.
And club owners who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity said they risked losing business as clients now feared for their lives.
“The question is how long people will get beaten up at clubs just because a soldier got into a fight,” one club owner asked.
“Does this mean they (soldiers) can cause trouble anywhere in the knowledge that they have backup that will beat up everybody. Are they above the law or basically the lawmakers themselves?
“We earn a living from these clubs and have also employed Basotho but if this continues that means the end of business. Not only do these people vandalise our property but our clients do not feel safe anymore.
“How do we live peacefully under such circumstances of highly trained people beating civilians who are supposed to seek protection from them?”
Another club owner said he had seen a post on social media that stated that his club was the next target of the violence.
He said government had to act on the matter as it was clear that the “LDF bosses had turned a blind eye to the issue”.
“It happened at Setsoto, Litaleng and now it is 4Fordy, who is next? This is not a case of thieves robbing a club but security personnel attacking civilians and surely they are known but we do not understand why no one has been held accountable.
“What is the prime minister and his Defence minister doing about the matter as it is clear the army commanders are aware of the incidents but have turned a blind eye to it.
“Since it is sometimes difficult to spot a soldier when he enters a club, we believe the solution is for the soldiers to be banned from going to clubs so that we can operate our businesses peacefully and our clients can feel safe because there is no private security that can protect us from soldiers.
“They have their own bars in the barracks and that is where they should get their alcohol because it is clear they do not like to interact with civilians who they often undermine by calling them ‘Masafilone’ (derogatory term for civilians).”
Brigadier Ntoi said he would not comment because the LDF had not received a request for the banning of soldiers from the clubs.
He also said he did not know the terms and conditions under which the clubs operated.
