MASERU — A 22-year-old man from Roma was beaten to death by angry villagers who accused him of raping a dog and assaulting two people on Monday last week.
Eyewitnesses said Retsélisitsoe Ntlhanngoe from Ha-Mafefooane in Roma was beaten with sticks and stones by the angry mob made up of villagers from Chief ‘Mamohale Maama’s area.
He was pronounced dead on arrival at Roma Hospital.
Chief Maama said her efforts to stop the angry mob from lynching Ntlhanngoe failed.
She said the villagers accused Ntlhanngoe of raping a dog and then stabbing it to death with a spear.
“They were beating him with sticks,” Maama said.
“I tried to stop them but they would not listen. They refused to take him to the police station as I had ordered. They beat him until he could not defend himself.”
“I was so embarrassed when I got the report that he had raped and killed a dog. I am too ashamed to talk about it.”
She said the villagers also accused Ntlhanngoe of assaulting two other villagers.
“They said he ran amok and started assaulting some villagers. He even tried to stab someone with a spear.”
One of Ntlhanngoe victims was ‘Mantala Ntho, 61, who is his grandmother.
He also allegedly stabbed Albert Maama with a spear.
When the Lesotho Times arrived in Ha-Mafefooane on Monday Ntho was still nursing a fractured left hand, wounds on the head and bruises on the body.
She said Ntlhanngoe had come into her house to ask her to intervene and solve the problems that he was having with his wife.
“Before I could respond he snatched the M20 note that I was holding and threw it into the open fire,” Ntho said.
“I asked him why he had done that but instead he got wild and ran into one of my houses. I followed him and pushed the door. We met on the door and he started beating me with his stick.”
She said Ntlhanngoe continued beating her even after she fell down. When some relatives came to help Ntlhanngoe broke into another house where Ntho’s grandson was sleeping.
“He got into the house through the window, grabbed the child by the arm and tossed him out of the house and locked himself in. He later jumped out through the same window to flee.”
Later they saw Ntlhanngoe threatening his sister with a knife, according to Ntho. “It was at this time that villagers rushed to help but they could not stop.”
Albert Maama said he confronted Ntlhanngoe hoping to restrain him but instead he became the victim of his anger.
“I had barely finished my sentence when he started running towards me with a spear in his hand,” Maama said.
“I looked at him as he came closer and I saw his face filled with anger. I thought he would hesitate to stab him and come to his senses but he shoved his spear straight into my face.”
He was stabbed once under the left eye and twice on the head. He dislocated his left foot ankle as he tried to run away.
“I fell down and woke up in hospital.”
Chief Maama said Ntlhanngoe was captured by the villagers at around 7:30pm on the same day.
“What he did was evil but no one had a right to end his life. What the villagers did was uncalled for and they should pay for what they did,” she said.
Police spokesperson superintendent Pheello Mphana confirmed the incident but said no suspects had been arrested yet because investigations were still in progress.
