Ritual murders must stop: Thabane
MASERU — Wailing fills the air at the Cenez High School ground as Reverend Beatrice Motokoa bellows a prayer, asking for divine intervention.
She is asking God to look over the Basotho nation.
Thousands of shocked Basotho gathered at the school ground last Saturday to join a mass prayer session to call on God to “cast away the evil spirits” in Koalabata, a village on the outskirts of the capital where two people were murdered.
Moholobela Seetsa, 13, and Kamohelo Mohata, 20, were killed in what are suspected to be ritual murders.
“Enough is enough of the murders,” says Reverend Motokoa.
The suspects, Lehlohonolo Scott, 25, and his 54-year-old mother ’Malehlohonolo Scott, are awaiting trial in police custody for Mohata’s murder.
Prime Minister Thomas Thabane said the murders have to “stop now”, and has ordered the police to leave no stone unturned in bringing the murderers to book.
He says Basotho must start a debate on the use of capital punishment.
In both murders, the bodies were dismembered and some of the parts have not yet been recovered.
This has fed fears that the murders were done for ritual purposes.
Traditionalists say those that kill for ritual purposes believe some body parts have powerful medicinal value.
They say the heart and genitals are the target.
However, Malefetsane Lepheane, leader of the Lesotho Traditional Medical Practitioners Council, says the belief that body parts have medicinal value is misdirected and evil.
“People who murder others for medicinal purpose are not true traditionalists as they claim. They are murderers who kill people to make a mockery of human life,” says Lepheane.
He says real traditional healers use only herbs and water.
“In the 18 years that I have practised as a traditional healer I have not seen or heard where lifeless body parts can be mixed with herbs or water for healing purposes. Death is such a fearful part of life that is compared to darkness.”
“Darkness and traditional healing do not go together. Mixing body parts, especially parts of a dead person, with herbs would only soil the medicine,” he says.
“There is no way murdering a person can bring anyone luck. We condemn it as traditional medical practitioners. How can we perform such devilish acts when the legal notice of 1969 even protects our patients from exposure to excessive fauna and flora? What more of a human life that the Bible says shouldn’t be ended?”
He adds that young traditional healers are cautioned not to be lured into killing people for medicine.
“In all our meetings we warn our members of the unfortunate acts of killing people for money.”
Frustrated and scared by the murders, people say ritual murderers should be hanged to set an example.
“This is scary. Those who kill should be killed just the same way they killed others. They should not be left to live with other people. They are heartless,” says a woman only identified as Tiisetso.
A Koalabata resident who refused to be named says the mood is tense.
“We are so tense in the village. We have stopped trusting each other. You cannot just talk to anyone anymore because you do not know who was involved in the killing of those boys,” says the woman.
More people are baying for the alleged murderers’ blood, she adds.
“People say the police and courts of law should better keep them away or they will kill them. People are angry. They feel disrespected. Some claim one of the suspects was in the front line when another suspected villager’s house was attacked.
The police have however appealed to the public not to attack the suspects.
Superintendent Sehlabo Makhakhe of the Mabote police says there are many murder cases that are being investigated across the country.
“We appeal to the people not to attack the suspects but rather inform the police. Then necessary investigations will lead to the suspects who will be taken to the courts of law for sentencing. Let’s all pray that these unfortunate murders come to an end,” says Makhakhe.
In his book Medicine Murder in Colonial Lesotho: The Anatomy of a Moral Crisis, Colin Murray narrates the history of medicine murder in Lesotho and how human body parts were believed to give people power.
“Medicine murder involved the cutting of body parts from victims, usually while they were still alive. These parts were then used in medicines intended to enhance the power of the murderers,” says a small summary of the book.
The book says a startling increase in cases of medicine murder apparently took place in Basutoland (now Lesotho), in southern Africa, in the late 1940s and the early 1950s, Murray says.
Comment by Ua 6Pondo. on 25 July 2012:
Hmmm. Se re retloa joale ka li parts tsa likoloi? Hoba pelo le tse ling lia rekisoa ho tsosa maphelo a mang. E seng for moriana feela. Ke sa re ho joalo in makhetlong a mabeli ana. Cruel and satanic!
Comment by semenekane on 26 July 2012:
Let them be hang to death. That will set a good example to other murders.
Comment by Kobea on 26 July 2012:
Ha ba isoe Setsoto, re eo ba tlepetsa ka majoe, kapa let them face the firing squad. Barbaric? No- their deed was, and warrants equal reaction to mitigate future would-be baretli.
Comment by Nthokasefubeng on 26 July 2012:
May our courts of law, if found guity as charged, deliver judgements which will be to the effect that they (alleged murderers) also are killed because i personally cannot be pleased to see those people being fed with the revenue to which i have contributed.
Comment by Pong pong on 26 July 2012:
Re shebile makhotla ka leihlo le ncho cho. Botlokotsebe ba mefuta eohle boa hola Lesotho mona hona le ho fokotseha ke makhotla a sa abeng toka. Re lahlehetsoe le ke tshepo ho sepolesa ke ho se etse lipatlisiso tse felletseng ebe ho thoe batho ba se inkele molao matsohong. Then do ur job guys n pple won’t have to assist u in their own way. We’re watching n watching…….
Comment by Exporter on 26 July 2012:
cutting down someone’s body parts while alive is cruelty,its SATANIC,DEMONIC&EVIL..just imagine the pain those small boys went through..heses!Indeed,ha ba tlisoe setsoto re tlo ba tlepetsa ka majoe!they must go through same pain as their victims…
May God’s angels console Moholobela&Seetsa together wth their families!Amen.
Comment by lenasi on 26 July 2012:
Taba eena ha se ya bosoasoi, kannete Basotho ba heso re tlamehile maoto le matsoho hore re rapeleng hobane ho hlakile satane u sa na le ho iketsetse feela Lesotho mona…Morena MOLIMO ke eena feela a ka re thusang ha re rapela ka matla.
Comment by Motlotsuoa on 26 July 2012:
They should spend their whole life in prison, I personally do not believe in capital punishment, letting those people live may actually help us to unravel the whole saga of ritual murders cos with time their conscience eat on them and they tell more about who are involved.
Comment by lekanyane on 26 July 2012:
Ebe re entseng e kale ho le lefatshe ha e ka satane o laola ha kale. kapa nako ea timelo ya lefatshe e se e atametse. Ba tla shwa ba tla botswa meleko ena. Ba sebete batho. Ebe ha bokreste bo ka kenngwa molaong wa motheo ho ka ba jwang. Something must be done soon otherwise many victims are still coming.
Comment by silence on 26 July 2012:
LE HA KE LE OETALIBE EA TSABANG LE HO BTSA LEBITSO LA MORENA MOLIMO KE KOPELA MALAPA ANA MATSELISO A NETE LEHOLIMONG. MEEA EA BONA E SIKOE ATLENG TSA MANYELOI BANA BANA BA SENANG MOLATO
Comment by Lepotoana on 26 July 2012:
Nxa! Manasi a matoala a re bolaea le ha a se a nkile puso.
Bashana ba heso re tlo ea re le bangata re lo boloka potoana leno la bo rona. Re ba ngata leha leka la rata le ke be la re qeta. Manasi a matoala lea retla ! Nxa!
Comment by Oa Lihlaba on 26 July 2012:
This type of killing is a disgrace to human beings, motho ke sebopuoa sa Molimo se fapaneng le tse ling ‘me ho ‘molaea ka tsela ena ke ho rohaka molimo ka boeena. Re ts’elisa malapa a lahlehetsoeng ke baratuoa ba bona ka tsela e bohloko ha kana. These murderers should rot in prison, dont kill them coz they get the easy way out rather let them suffer counsiously of their evil deeds.
Comment by Mahlemphere on 27 July 2012:
Baf2 atsea kea lejwetsa bodaemane nthwena ya boilluminathi ya bahlantsha haeba ba se ba retla ba nahan hore ba rua ba lora ha ba kene sekolo hao na leruo la fumanoang ka letsoho la motho
Comment by Thaa on 27 July 2012:
@lepotoana u r nothing but a waste of genes as a nation we need to get ride of stanic people like u amongst us how much i wish scott cud have done that to u. We as an nation we want to be united and u bring ur dirty and cheap dividing politics i curse u and your generation till the tenth u
Comment by Thaa on 27 July 2012:
@lepotoana u r nothing but a waste of genes as a nation we need to get ride of stanic people like u amongst us how much i wish scott cud have done that to u. We as an nation we want to be united and u bring ur dirty and cheap dividing politics i curse u and your generation till the tenth u Belzer bull and a lucifarian
Comment by Mju on 28 July 2012:
Tha,
So you mean what Scott did was a deliberate action by the so called the nation (ABC) to get rid of people you hate (DC)? This is shear desperation for power to the extent of riding on the devil’s back just to acqauire power. Shame upon you guys. You don’t deserve to lead this country, you blood-suckers.
Comment by Big BF on 29 July 2012:
Meea ea bona e phomole ka khotso mmusong wa Molimo
Comment by Silky on 30 July 2012:
Mohlomphehi Tona Kholo, let this be an instruction to Hon. Minister of Justice. Ke ka kahlolo e boima feela re ka hlolang boemo bona. O boletse ka nepo hore kahlolo ea lefu e ntse e le teng, ha e sebetse bahlomphehi ba ka hle!! re ke ke ra be sale re rapela, Molimo o re file likelello le bohlale ba ho hlola sera, ha re sebetseng bo ntate.
Comment by motlatsi moqekela on 31 July 2012:
Ntate Thabane, hopola hore CRIMME was your priority likhethong tse fitileng jwale LETS GET THE ACTION DONE…….Seretli se bolawe le sona!
Comment by motlatsi moqekela on 31 July 2012:
BASOTHO, lets calm down and give THE ALMIGHTY chance to deal with this matter! haho se ka mohlolang hobane”he is the power by himself”
Comment by motlatsi moqekela on 31 July 2012:
Silky motsoalle oaka, haho nnete e fetang eo.
Comment by Motlatsi Moqekela on 31 July 2012:
Hela lepotoana!RE NTSE RE HLAOLA BOHLASOA, seke oa sebelia freedom of speech and opinion ea hao ha mpe,litaba tseo o libuang are stictly from the devilS MIND and HEART…….FETOHA LE LINAKO…Lipuo tsa hao can never change what goes around(ABC,LCD and BNP) ARE THE ONES IN CHARGE FOR THE GORVENING OF “THE MOUNTAIN KINDOM”
Comment by Nama on 31 July 2012:
@ mju u moleko joalo ka ntatao liabolosi who like to read between the lines
Comment by mohlalefi on 1 August 2012:
Ke mametse; Ke utlueile,;
Ha ho motho ea tla bolaoa Ka Musong Oa LESOTHO.No capital panishment.
Ke Tsomo ka mathetho.
Ke li Taelo! HA LI PHETHOOE.Khotso!Ke PHETHO.
Mohlalefi
Comment by Masentle Moteane on 8 August 2012:
Kannete batho bana ha ho potang ke ma anti christ. Ruri ba khopo batho ebile ha ba na mohau!
Comment by Masentle Moteane on 8 August 2012:
Kea ipotsa hr na kannete ngoana eo oa motho bohloko boo a bo utloileng ke ba mofuta u fe.