Moorosi Tsiane
POLICE Commissioner, Holomo Molibeli, has been slapped with an M8 million lawsuit by a Ha-Matala widow who claims her husband was killed by the police in July 2023.
‘Makhothalo Mohlori claims in her High Court application that her husband, Mahloko Mohlori, was arrested by Thaba Tseka police on the 28 July 2023 for an alleged traffic offence.
Ms Mohlori explains her husband had been driving his motor vehicle when he got arrested and was subsequently detained in police cells.
Ms Mohlori says she received a phone call the following morning from an officer commanding traffic department at Thaba-Tseka Police Station informing her of the passing of her husband.
She argues by the time her husband was arrested and detained, he was still in good health. He even called her informing her that he was being arrested and detained. She was thus shocked to be informed that he had died.
Commissioner Molibeli and Attorney General Rapelang Motsieloa are first and second defendants respectively.
She states that her husband “died whilst in the custody of members of Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) who were on duty on the night of the 28th July 2023”.
As a result, Ms Mohlori regards those members of LMPS responsible for the death of her husband “through their direct action, omission and or their negligence”.
She said a postmortem report had revealed that her husband died as a result of heart and lungs failure caused by lack of oxygen.
Ms Mohlori therefore holds Commissioner Molibeli “vicariously liable for the actions of his subordinates as they were acting within the course and scope of their official employment”.
She says despite lodging a criminal case, no criminal charges have been laid against the said police officers.
She claims the death of her husband had caused her emotional shock, trauma, and mental anguish for which she suffered damages which she holds Commissioner Molibeli and Advocate Motsieloa liable to pay.
“The untimely death of my husband has caused me loss of consortium for which I hold defendants liable. During his lifetime, my husband was a civil servant and at all material times prior to his death, he was the provider and breadwinner of the family supporting me.”
She said due to the circumstances surrounding her husband’s death, she had to engage a private pathologist to perform a postmortem on his body and in the process, she incurred huge expenses relating to the pathology procedure.
Mrs Mohlori says she had incurred M150 000 for burial expenses and for the postmortem.
She says due to the wrongful and negligent act of agents of Commissioner Molibeli, she has suffered damages in the following respect: Loss of support, burial and pathologist expenses, loss of consortium, emotional shock, trauma and legal costs.
Mrs Mohlori says her letter of demand to Commissioner Molibeli and Adv Motsieloa dated 1 December 2023 was ignored.
She therefore prays for judgement against the defendants in the following terms: payment of damages for loss of support in the sum of M2 million, payment for burial and pathologist expenses in the sum of M150 000, payment for damages for emotional shock and trauma in the sum of M3 850 000, payment as damages for loss of consortium in the sum of M2 million.
