Africa-Press – Lesotho. TWO men have died and a child is battling for his life at a hospital following what is suspected to have been a revenge attack in Matsieng last weekend.
A famo music gangster, Tšepiso Kholome, 31, was gunned down in Klerksdorp, South Africa, a week ago by his rivals who are believed to be of the Terene group. Kholome is due to be buried in Matsieng this Saturday.
The attack has triggered panic in Ha-Majara, atop the Matsieng Plateau, to an extent that the area’s Chief Maponyane Mojela has asked the police to provide security at the gangster’s funeral.
Kholome was one of the bodyguards of Liala-Mabatha gang boss, Kamohelo Letsoanya, who earlier defected from the Terene group to form his own famo group.
Police sources close to the matter in Morija confirmed the incident last night. But police spokesperson Inspector ’Mareabetsoe Mofoka could not comment on the matter as it happened outside Lesotho’s borders.
What Inspector Mofoka confirmed is that before Kholome’s burial, there are already clear signs that pandemonium could break out this Saturday. Last Saturday, three people were shot at a shop at around 8pm on the Matsieng Plateau.
Inspector Mofoka said a man aged 26 years old died instantly while another died later at the hospital owing to severe gun wounds. She said an eight-year-old boy is fighting for his life at the hospital after he was shot.
“The clerk at the shop was only severely beaten. He was not killed,” she said, adding that the attackers went away with a paltry M410 and a case of Castle Milk-Stout.
Inspector Mofoka said the suspects are still at large. But the source said the suspects are known to the police with names and faces. He suspected they had already skipped the country for South Africa.
It is normal for famo gangsters to skip the country to South Africa after committing crime in Lesotho. They take advantage of the lax border controls between the two countries.
Kholome, nicknamed Mphothe, will be buried this Saturday. Kholome was a member of Liala-Mabatha, a famo gang that defected from the Terene some years ago. Liala-Mabatha has a stronghold in Matsieng and other neighbouring villages.
Kholome was the right-handman of Liala-Mabatha gang leader, Kamohelo Letsoanya, who is also known as Setompo, a feared man both in Lesotho and South Africa.
A source in the police told thepost that Kholome was wanted in connection with several murders in Lesotho. The source said Kholome was a suspect in the killing of one grandmother together with her 13-year-old grandchild in Matsieng in 2020.
“The grandchild died with his headsets still on,” the source said.
“It seems like he was studying through the phone,” he said.
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