- slapped with 10-year sentences each
- as gvt begins to enforce famo ban
- but famo violence still spreads with two more shot dead
Hopolang Mokhopi
THREE Leribe men have been slapped with 10-year jail sentences each after being found guilty of wearing regalia of banned famo groups.
The hefty sentences (even though they were accompanied with the option of a fine) prove the government is serious with enforcing the ban on the activities of the famo groups blamed for fuelling rampant crime which has paralysed the country.
The Leribe Magistrates Court convicted the trio of Monoeche Mabokoane (31), Motantjeloe Mokoko (39) and Lebitso Rammopo (29) of Khanyane in the same district for wearing regalia of their banned famo groups. Magistrate Koaesa sentenced them to the hefty prison terms, making them the first recipients of a new law gazetted to rein in the famo gangs, which began as music groups to promote their music genre, but subsequently faced accusations of morphing into fully fledged criminal enterprises.
Even as the three Leribe men were being sentenced, the famo violence spread. Two people and eight horses were shot and killed at a farm belonging to Tšepiso “Mosotho” Radebe of Terene a Khosi Mokata Lirope gang at his farm in South Africa on Sunday.
The killings of Mosotho’s workers and horses is believed to be part of the continuing famo revenge violence. The Lesotho Times efforts to get details of the incident from the South African Police Service had not succeeded by the time of going to print last night. It is understood gunmen invaded the farm and opened fire.
The latest killings followed the murder of six people – including five family members – in April in Mosotho’s home village of Liphakoeng and the nearby Fobane village in Leribe. No one has yet been arrested in connection with those killings believed to have stemmed from ongoing feuds between Mosotho’s Terene ea Mokata Lirope group and the Liala Mabatha gang.
The killing of Mosotho’s workers and horses is believed to have been meant to cripple him from participating in the upcoming highly regarded Durban July race in Durban, South Africa. His horses have previously featured in that race. One of Mosotho’s horses even won in one of the race categories at last year’s Durban July.
The Lesotho Times has previously interviewed Mosotho but has been unable to reach him since the killings in his home village in April as well as the latest ones on his farm on Sunday. He appears to have gone into hiding.
The famo groups have been maiming each other in both Lesotho and South Africa, where they vie for control of illegal mining shafts.
The government on 10 May 2024 gazetted an Internal Security Declaration banning the famo groups from operating and from promoting their music genre in a bid to stem rampant crime which had claimed the lives of 56 people in April 2024 alone, according to former Acting Police commissioner, Mahlape Morai. The April 2024 killings were confined to the country’s northern region alone.
And in a show of force, the three Leribe men his week became the first recipients of the hefty sentences stemming from the May 2024 Internal Security Declaration by police minister Lebona Lephema banning the famo groups.
Magistrate Koaesa found them guilty of wearing the famo regalia and sentenced them to 10 years imprisonment or fine of M10 000 each. They had been remanded in custody pending the payment of the fines. If they fail to pay the fines, they would have to spend the effective 10-year prison sentences. No portion of the sentences were suspended. The M10 000 represents a fortune for many poor ordinary followers of the famo groups.
According to the chargesheet, the trio was arrested on 18 May 2024 in Khanyane, Leribe, where they were found to be wearing black and blue letlama blankets, and green jerseys emblazoned with the words “khanyane ke lehae laka” (‘Khanyane is my home’) and green hats engraved with “Ha le jeloe letjala” (carry your own cross).
“The said accused are charged for being members of unlawful organisations which promote or encourage subversive activities in contravention of sections 7, 11 and 12 of the Internal Securities (General) Act No.24 of 1984 read with Legal Notice No.40 of 2024 Internal Security (Declaration of Unlawful Organisations),” part of the charge sheet read.
The trio first appeared in court on 21 May 2024 to be conferred with the charges. They pleaded not guilty and were released on M3000 bail each and M15 000 surety.
They were ordered to reappear before the same court on Tuesday this week when they were convicted and sentenced.
The hefty jail terms mean that members of famo groups, or their supporters, some of whom have vowed to defy the government’s ban, are in for big trouble. The poor ones, who may not afford to pay the fines, face the spectre of long jail sentences as Messrs Mabokoane Mokoko and Rammopo. M10 000 is a fortune for most poor Basotho in the mountains.
