Africa-Press – Lesotho. TWO Lesotho police constables have been fingered in the disappearance of a South African soldier who has been missing for more than a month and is now feared dead.
The soldier, Lethusang Azael Fothoane, who is from Bloemfontein, was last seen in Wepener on October 29. His family reported him missing on October 31.
Fothoane’s white Toyota Fortuner was recently found at a Mafeteng scrapyard, together with his military uniform, wallet and identity document. Police have not found a body but believe Fothoane was hijacked, murdered and his car smuggled in Lesotho.
A joint investigation by the Lesotho and South African police had initially zeroed in on three suspects, all Lesotho nationals, who were last seen driving with Fothoane in Wepener. One of them is Lefa Mabasa, a Mazenod resident.
The details of the other two are still vague but South African police say one of them is a man known as Matshidi or Qoqotho and the other is a “dark slender woman” only identified as Lerato.
The investigation has now revealed that the two Mafeteng-based police officers, Constable Bohloko and Constable Sefika, were either involved in Fothoane’s disappearance or at the very least know what happened to him.
This is because the police discovered that the two constables were actively involved in trying to cover up the crime, destroy evidence and selling Fothoane’s vehicle.
It is understood that while their colleagues at the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) in Mafeteng were investigating the case, the constables were actively trying to help Mabasa and his alleged accomplices sell Fothoane’s car. The constables are yet to be arrested but the police have opened a docket for murder, corruption, car theft and defeating the ends of justice.
thepost has not seen the docket but has gleaned details of the investigation from Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli’s two letters asking the two constables to explain why they should not be fired from the police service because of their alleged involvement in the crime.
The letters, seen by thepost, link Constable Bohloko and Constable Sefika to events that happened days after Fothoane disappeared. Commissioner Molibeli alleges that the constables “actively aided, abetted, facilitated the further commission of the crime and counselled such criminal suspects on how to dispose of the stolen car”.
“Police investigations have revealed that you came to know of such a criminal enterprise immediately after it had happened through the criminal suspects who perpetrated such a heinous crime.
Commissioner Molibeli says on October 29 PC Bohloko called one Tšepo Morake, a motor mechanic, asking him to help some men who were coming to his workshop near Mafeteng Hospital.
Moments later, the men drove a Toyota Fortuner into Morake’s workshop and asked him to remove its tracker. When Morake refused, arguing that such an illegal act would taint his reputation, the men called Constable Bohloko.
Morake only removed the tracker after Constable Bohloko called and insisted that he help the men. The investigation, according to the commissioner’s letter, revealed that Constable Sefika called one Mpana Mpana, who stays in Mafeteng’s Motse-Mocha village, and asked to meet him.
Constable Sefika brought two men to the meeting with Mpana. The commissioner identifies the men only as Lefa and Jaase. Lefa is presumably Lefa Mabasa, the other suspect who was last seen with Fothoane in Wepener before he disappeared.
Commissioner Molibeli alleges that Constable Sefika then told Mpana about the stolen vehicle and asked him to keep it at his house while he looked for a buyer.
Mpana initially refused, saying he didn’t want to be involved in a criminal act, but Constable Sefika allegedly pressured him until he agreed. “You then brought the car and gave him (Mpana) keys to the car,” the commissioner says to Constable Sefika in the letter.
“The said car was collected by one of your colleagues, namely Lefa, the following day which was on the 30th day of October 2023.
” On the same day, the commissioner alleges, Constable Sefika received a call from Morake informing him that he had removed the car’s tracker.
Commissioner Molibeli tells Constable Bohloko and Constable Sefika that they deserve to be fired for abrogating their duty to prevent and fight crime. Police spokesman, Senior Superintendent Kabelo Halahala, told thepost that investigations are still ongoing.
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