Mathatisi Sebusi
A senior prisons official stands accused of threatening inmates against testifying truthfully at an ongoing Commission of Inquiry into the torture and assault of convicts in December last year.
Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) Assistant Commissioner (AC), Tsoto Manaka, is said to have threatened prisoners with severe consequences once the business of the Commission is finished and they return to their cells.
The inmates are among those testifying in the ongoing inquiry into the December 2023 escape and torture of inmates at Maseru Central Correctional Institution (MCCI).
AC Manaka, who is in charge of the MCCI, allegedly threatened that he would deal with inmates who told the commission the truth about what had transpired on 23 December 2023. He allegedly told them they would remain at MCCI after the Commission had completed its inquiry and would be in trouble thereafter.
This came to light on Monday when one of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF)’s incarcerated members, Liphapang Sefako, requested to testify in camera.
Private Sefako is one of the 10 soldiers standing trial in the High Court for the 2017 murder of three civilians who were allegedly strangled before their bodies were thrown into Mohale Dam.
Pvt Sefako told the Commission that he had been threatened against testifying by AC Manaka.
He claimed AC Manaka called all inmates to a meeting on Monday morning, few hours before they could start testifying before the Commission, and told them that they should be mindful of what they say before the Commission. He allegedly told the inmates that the Commission was only temporary and when it was done with its business, they (inmates) would be left to deal with the LCS managers and officers.
Pvt Sefako said he considered AC Manaka’s utterances as a threat that left him scared of what would happen to him after testifying.
“As an inmate who has been in the correctional services for seven years and might still be here for 30 years if not more, I take this as a serious threat and I am scared for my safety. Before the meeting, I did not have any problem of testifying in the presence of cameras but after that meeting (with Manaka) I am no longer confident to do so,” Pvt Sefako said.
“I wonder what will happen to me after testifying. So, I want to testify in private (in camera) because I will be talking about officers who assaulted us for no reason. After some hurtful things he did to us, Mr Manaka continues to threaten us.”
This left the three-member Commission of High Court judge, Justice Realeboha Mathaba, former Deputy Prime Minister and human rights lawyer Advocate Kelebone Maope, and former Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) commissioner, Mojalefa Thulo, in shock.
The chairperson, Justice Mathaba, said every person who was called by the commission to testify had a right to do so freely.
He said they were surprised because evidence leader, Sekati Makhele, told them that AC Manaka had assured them that all witnesses would testify without fear.
Justice Mathaba said they were shocked that he was the one now intimidating inmates.
“I was given safety assurances by Assistant Commissioner Manaka. I am surprised that he is doing the opposite and threatening witnesses,” he said.
The commission directed Mr Makhele to go back to AC Manaka and demand practical ways on how he (Manaka) would ensure the safety of witnesses.
“Expectation was that you were going to have a meeting with Mr Manaka regarding safety assurances for officers and inmates who will be testifying. Now go tell him that besides the assurance they gave us, we want practical ways on how they are going to ensure that nobody is threatened or assaulted after testifying before the Commission,” Justice Mathaba said.
However, other inmates were brave enough to testify despite the threats.
Another soldier, Marasi ‘Moleli, told the commission that on the 23rd December 2023 during a search operation, him and his cellmates were assaulted for no reason. He said none of his cellmates had resisted being searched by the LCS recruits. But the recruits on entering their cell started ordering them to stand by the wall with their hands against it and started beating them on their backs and buttocks.
He said no explanation was given for the beatings. They were only told that the LCS was not the LDF barracks where they could do as they pleased.
Corporal ‘Moleli said before he was assaulted, he was insulted by the recruits. When he asked them to stop, that irritated them further and they beat him even worse, he claimed. He said he was left covered in blood and his right hand was left numb.
“There was a time I was seated on the floor with hands over my head blocking sticks which were beating me. I could not see at that moment as to who was hitting me but I could hear deafening screams and cries from other inmates amidst the sound of the fighting sticks landing on their bodies,” he said.
He said he and nine fellow cellmates were assaulted so much that they needed immediate medical attention.
He said he then asked one of the senior officers to help him get to the correctional services clinic where he met a lot more inmates who were severely injured. One was unconscious from the beatings they had endured all morning.
Corporal ‘Moleli said the clinic told them that there was not much it could do and promised to refer them to Makoanyane Military Hospital.
“While we were still at the clinic, more injured inmates arrived until we were so many that we were told to leave and not crowd the clinic.
“Only a few injured inmates were later taken to the hospital while the rest were directed to go back to their cells,” he said.
The teary Cpl ‘Moleli further told the Commission that after being assaulted, he was denied access to his visitors who included his wife, children, niece and brother. He said he was told to only receive his parcels from them and never say a word to them.
He said he ignored the directive and told his brother that he was assaulted and directed him to report the matter to his lawyer.
“The most hurtful thing the officers did to me was denying me to talk to my children on Christmas day. My children came to visit me with my brother. I am sure they came fully aware that I had been assaulted and hoped to spend the day with me but I was denied access to talk to them. What was surprising was that I was the only one who was not allowed to talk to visitors and the explanation was that I had told my brother that I had been assaulted,” he said.
He said he was denied access to his visitors despite a High Court order allowing such access like before.
The commission of inquiry is in its third week of probing the escape of six inmates at the maximum prison and the subsequent torture and deaths of two and severe injuries on many as prisons officers sought to establish what had happened. It continues today.
