By ‘Mantoetse Maama
MASERU — A 63-year-old woman from Ha Khojane in Mafeteng died in hospital after she was brutally assaulted while attending a graduation ceremony at an initiation school last Friday.
The woman’s 35-year-old son, who was attacked together with her, died on the scene of the attack.
Police spokesperson Lebona Mohloboli confirmed the incident.
“It was reported that the two had attended a graduation ceremony at an initiation school when they met four men who attacked them,” Mohloboli said. “The man was beaten to death while his mother was admitted at Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital with serious injuries.”
“The woman died after she was hospitalised for two weeks. The men just attacked the two for no apparent reason. This is not the first time that people attending initiation ceremonies have been attacked,” he said.
Mohloboli said the perpetrators are making violence the norm at graduation ceremonies.
“There are many cases that have been reported where people are attacked. Some die while others sustain serious injuries. These people have turned the initiation graduation ceremony into a battleground,” Mohloboli said.
He said in the past people attended the graduation ceremony to have fun and some would bring sticks only to engage in the stick fighting game.
“These days, some bring guns and other dangerous weapons. This indicates that people go there to fight and not to play like it used to be in the past,” he said.
The officer commanding Mafeteng Police, Senior Superintendent Moshe Raleting, said they have started meeting with initiates, traditional healers, owners of initiation schools and chiefs in Tšakholo in a bid to bring an end to the attacks.
“Six people were murdered at a pass out ceremony in the district. Three others sustained serious injuries and were even hospitalised in Queen ‘Mamohato and Mafeteng hospital,” Raleting said.
“We have confiscated five illegal firearms in different initiation schools. The search party also found 77 ‘Masapo’ sticks, 23 knives, six spears and iron rods with sharp ends.”
During the pass out, Mohloboli said, they normally deploy police to ensure there are no criminal offences committed.
“During the gatherings we advise the initiates to respect their laws and the country’s laws and stop committing crime. We warn them to stop carrying dangerous weapons to initiation schools,” Raleting added.
“The owners of the initiation schools blamed the younger generations, saying they are the ones responsible for this bad behaviour. They said they have their own way of dealing with those who do not respect the law.”
Raleting said they will stick to their strategies of searching people at the graduation ceremonies and even send police to the initiation schools before the pass out to search for dangerous weapons.
“We will continue with this approach at the gathering in Tebang. The gathering in Likhoele has been rescheduled to January 21. We will address this problem in all initiation schools in the district,” he said.
