LESOTHO: ABUSED OPPOSITION BODYGUARD FREED ON COURT ORDER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000385

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/S

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PHUM ASEC LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO: ABUSED OPPOSITION BODYGUARD FREED ON COURT ORDER

REF: Maseru 379

MASERU 00000385 001.2 OF 002



1. (U) SUMMARY: On the evening of July 2, a High Court Justice
ordered the Lesotho Defense Forces (LDF) Commander to facilitate
the immediate release of Mr. Makotoko Lerotholi to his family.
Unidentified gunmen took Mr. Lerotholi, a bodyguard for Thomas
Thabane, head of the All Basotho Convention (ABC),from his home
by on June 22. Neither the LDF nor the Lesotho Mounted Police
Service (LMPS) admitted having him in his custody. Following a
legal appeal by his wife, Lerotholi's lawyer was granted access
to him and discovered the man in poor physical condition bound
to a hospital bed at Makoanyane Military Hospital (MMH). After
his release, he alleged torture at the hands of Lesotho's
security organs. END SUMMARY.



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A Grim Tale of Extra-Judicial Force

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2. (SBU) At approximately 9:00 p.m. on July 2, a Justice of
Lesotho's High Court ordered the immediate release of Makotoko
Lerotholi, a bodyguard for opposition ABC leader Thomas Thabane,
in response to an legal case filed by Lerotholi's wife after her
husband's abduction by unknown gunmen on June 22. Lerotholi is
a former soldier, retired from the army for eight years. After
Lerotholi was abducted, fellow Thabane bodyguard Thabo Thants'i
claimed that he had witnessed Lerotholi's torture before
escaping from Makoanyane Military Hospital (MMH) to South Africa
after his own alleged torture (reftel). According to Embassy
security contacts, LDF soldiers attempted to turn Lerotholi over
to police custody on June 29, but the LMPS's Assistant
Commissioner for Criminal Investigations refused due to the
man's apparent injuries at the hands of his interrogators and
the fact that the police had not charged him with a crime.




3. (U) Hae Phoofolo, Lerotholi's attorney and a well known human
rights lawyer, was the first to access Mr. Lerotholi after the
court order. During a call to private radio station Harvest-FM,
he claimed that he found Lerotholi chained to a bed at
Makoanyane Military Hospital (MMH). He stated that Lerotholi
had obvious signs of physical abuse. Since his release,
Lerotholi related his ordeal to family and friends, who have
since publicly stated that he was tortured.



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The High Court Case

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4. (U) The case filed at the high court accused the following
individuals of responsibility in her husband's abduction:
Commander of the LDF General Thuso Motanyane; Prime Minister and
Minister of Defense Pakalitha Mosisili; Commissioner of Police
`Malejaka Letooane; Director of Makoanyane Military Hospital
Lieutenant Paul Koenane; and Attorney General, Tsokolo Makhethe.




5. (U) High Court Judge `Maseforo Mahase issued a strong ruling,
stating that "the applicant's husband's kidnapping and detention
by the [LDF Forces] is an unlawful violation of his right to
liberty," and directed that Makoanyane Military Hospital provide
Lerotholi's attorney with records of "all physical examinations
done while he remained at Makoanyane Military Hospital (MMH)."



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Grim Tale, Bold Judiciary

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6. (SBU) COMMENT: The case of Makotoko Lerotholi is a grim
reminder of the directions in which the current political
turbulence can lead. Section 81 of Lesotho's constitution

MASERU 00000385 002.2 OF 002


prohibits all forms of torture. The only bright spot in this
dark narrative is the judicial independence shown by Lesotho's
High Court, which moved boldly and expeditiously to resolve Ms.
Lerotholi's case. The political opposition, meanwhile, is
citing the alleged torture in its growing demands for the GOL to
cease extrajudicial detention and mistreatment of its supports.
END COMMENT.
MURPHY