Maseru,Sept.02 — The wife of the late Maaparankoe Mahao, ‘Mamphanya Mahao has on Tuesday told the High Court that the Mahao family had no confidence in the government of that time, because they lied to them about what happened in relation to the death of the deceased.
Mrs. Mahao said as she continued to testify in a case in which nine members of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) including Retired Army Commander Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli, are charged with the murder of Maaparankoe Mahao.
She stated that after her husband was killed, the then Minister of Defence Mr. Ts’eliso Mokhosi made a public announcement indicating that an accident occurred and unfortunately an officer died.
She pointed out that Mr. Mokhosi was one of the people whom the deceased had approached after his security was taken from him, but he did not assist him in any manner.
The witness testified that the Mahao family was baffled that the army refused to release the body of the deceased, if indeed what happened was an accident. She said they stood publicly, using the media and refuted what the minister said. She indicated that they approached international organisations as well as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for assistance to get justice.
She pointed out that SADC even formed a commission which was headed by Retired Justice Phumaphi.
She said a report from the commission recommended that action be taken against those implicated in the death of Maaparankoe. She added that she managed to get hold of the report in its original form adding that it had names whereas the one presented by the government had those names expunged. . .
Ends/SM/ml
