Africa-Press – Lesotho. A Mafeteng-based activist for the opposition Democratic Congress (DC), Refiloe Makatsa, was shot dead last Sunday in a bizarre argument over parking at his gate.
Makatsa was coming home at night following the launch of his music album when he found a police officers and others blocking his way to his home. He allegedly demanded that they remove their cars from his gate so that he could enter but they responded rudely to his request which triggered a fight.
The police officer allegedly took out a knife during the fight but it slipped and fell. He then pulled out a gun and shot Makatsa. Makatsa died on the way to hospital.
“They shot him and then kicked him like he was no human being,” a grieving female relative told thepost this week.
“We are heartbroken as a family and we have lost our son,” she said.
“We were looking forward to seeing a lot from him.
” She said Makatsa leaves behind two daughters and a son.
“We want justice to be served for our son and that murderer should stop going to work.
” She added that if he is not arrested the Phahameng community will take the law into their own hands.
“I am not happy that the killer of our son is still roaming the streets.
Yesterday the DC leader Mathibeli Mokhothu visited the family and criticised the police for allegedly conducting Makatsa’s post-mortem in the absence of his family.
Mokhothu said the DC is engaging its lawyers to see if the post-mortem could be redone in the presence of the Makatsa family. Mokhothu said the police might be trying to hide some evidence as Makatsa was shot by one of them.
“This is the fifth day after Refiloe Makatsa lost his life and the murderer has not been arrested,” Mokhothu said.
“Makatsa was present at the concert and he later went back to his house where he found people parking outside his garden therefore making it difficult for him to get into his home,” he said.
“We as the party cannot judge the police for making the post-mortem without the family being involved but our lawyer Zwalakhe Mda will take care of this matter until justice is served.
” He added that the party needed Makatsa to live and continue providing for his family and to be one of the DC singers.
“We will take care of the funeral arrangements and the family will never go to bed on an empty stomach,” he said.
“The DC will take care of his family.
Mokhothu has called on “all Basotho who lost their beloved ones through police brutality” to report at the DC offices because “we are about to stop this”.
“The police are folding their arms and doing absolutely nothing,” he said.
Senior Superintendent Leabua Shale, police commander in Mafeteng district, said the officer who killed Makatsa is not at work because he is nursing wounds after the fight.
The cop, S/Supt Shale said, has not been suspended from work. “He has some bruises and is still taking care of himself at home and he is not going to work for now since the investigations are ongoing,” S/Supt Shale said.
“It is not true that the family was not involved when the post-mortem was done,” he said.
“They informed us that we would find the family members in Maseru and they did show up, a man and a woman.
He said the family knows quite well the cause of death and the police are waiting for a report from the doctor so that they could give it to the prosecution.
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