Africa-Press – Lesotho. Mathabo Lelimo, 37, a committed sportswoman, died last weekend after she was allegedly beaten and strangled by her boyfriend. The killing has torched an outpouring of emotions in Sea Point in Maseru where she lived.
Lelimo, 37, a keen sportswoman, was serving as a commissioner at the Lesotho Recreation and Sports Commission (LRSC) at the time of her death. She was allegedly beaten and strangled to death by her boyfriend, a man she had looked up to as her protector.
The boyfriend fled the scene following the incident. Her younger sister ’Maselebalo Lelimo said it had become routine for the sisters to meet up on Sundays and drive together to church.
On the uneventful day, Lelimo said she hooted when she arrived at her sister’s home hoping she would come out as usual. When she asked her sister’s son about the whereabouts of his mother, he delivered the devastating news.
“He told me that her mum was dead in the house,” Lelimo recalled, adding that the seven-year-old boy was playing around with other children in the village.
Lelimo said she couldn’t believe what the little boy was saying, but reality sank when she found her sister lying on a couch motionless and breathless.
She informed a neighbour and the police about the incident. Lelimo described the late ’Mathabo as a person with a keen sense of humour. “She was always humble, collected and down to earth.
She was always confident, said Lelimo. Lelimo said the deceased confided to her about her rocky and abusive relationship with her boyfriend. She said Lelimo once shared with her that she had informed her boyfriend that they should end the relationship but he flatly refused to terminate the affair.
Instead he told her that women do not dump him. “Our hearts are broken beyond words. We want to see justice done,” said Lelimo. LSRC Acting CEO Commissioner Lefa Moneri said the deceased had left an indelible mark in her work.
He said he knew the deceased when she was still a student at ’Mabathoana High School as the best table tennis player before later joining the LSRC as the Commissioner.
“She was focused and humble. She did not talk too much and listened attentively,” Moneri said.
Her memorial service was set to be held at Setsoto Stadium B on Thursday. Last Sunday, the LSRC held a sad walk to say no to Gender Based Violence (GBV). Deputy police spokesperson Sub-Inspector ’Mareabetsoe Mofoka said the suspect has since been nabbed in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
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