Maseru, July 24 — The officer who led Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) search team says the search exercise could not have been conducted after the escape of inmates.
This, Chief Officer Tololi Rats’ele said before the Commission Of Inquiry on the escape of inmates, when identifying LCS recruits who conducted the search exercise at Maseru Central Correctional Institution (MCCI) on December 22 last year.
Chief Officer Rats’ele said he learnt when he arrived at the Correctional Staff Training School (CSTS) that the recruits who conducted the search knew about the escape of inmates on December 21, 2023.
He said the recruits thus went to MCCI thinking other inmates contributed towards the escape of the six inmates.
” I heard after the search that it was reported to some recruits that some inmates sang the night inmates escaped to enable such to happen” he said, emphasizing that he could not have gone to MCCI to conduct a search if he knew about this.
He also admitted that the search was harsh as per footage and could not say it was effective based on the manner in which it was conducted.
“From the search that I know, I’ve never seen inmates squat or held at the back being pushed as well as usage of the huge fighting sticks inmates were beaten with” he stressed.
Meanwhile Chief Officer Rats’ele earlier indicated that there were eleven instructors during the search and admitted there was no supervision as per footage which featured the maximum block.
The Commission is continuing to watch footage which features how the search exercise was conducted within MCCI blocks.
Ends
