By Limpho Sello
MASERU — In an effort to discourage criminal activities, as well as to forge smooth relations
with the members of the public, the Commander of the Lesotho Deference Force (LDF), Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli, led a total of 750 soldiers in a 190km march from Thaba-Tseka to Maseru on Monday.
The 10-and-a-half-hour-long march which began at 0600 hours at the Thaba Tseka city centre ended with an address by the commander at the LDF headquarters in Ratjomose Barracks in Maseru in the afternoon.
In his address, the army commander congratulated the soldiers for enduring the tedious march and staying committed to the cause of advancing national security and order at all times.
“I want to say to you this is a job well done,” Lt Gen Kamoli said.
Lt Gen Kamoli said the work that is being carried out by the army instils a sense of national pride in the command as well as in the entire nation.
He also expressed gratitude to the soldiers for agreeing to leave their families during the festive season all in the name of national security.
Scores of soldiers were deployed in the various districts countrywide during the festive break to avert criminal activity which usually threatens national peace during the break.
Meanwhile addressing a media briefing at the end of the march in the Ratjomose Barracks, LDF spokesperson Ntlele Ntoi said the march was also part of an exercise meant to ensure that the soldiers stayed physically fit and healthy in order to carry out their key responsibility of protecting the country.
He said soldiers who do not train to stay physically healthy become a liability as they cannot defend the country against attack by enemies.
“Soldiers who do not exercise to stay healthy and fit are enemies of their own country and if they vowed to protect the country they have to exercise,” Ntoi said.
He said the march was also meant to make the people feel the presence of the army so as to be confident in it and approach LDF when instances of threats to national peace and stability occur, adding that the march would be an annual activity carried out in the different districts of Lesotho.
The walk was carried out in the Butha-Buthe and Quthing districts in 2012.
