Africa-Press – Lesotho. TWO police officers who were suspected of stealing two AK47 assault rifles and 60 rounds of ammo have been fired. The duo are suspected by the police to have passed the guns to an illegal miner working in the closed shafts in South Africa.
Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli told a press conference on Tuesday that he is weary of officers who drag the police’s name in the mud by engaging in illegal activities.
“We have decided that they must leave the service and go to do their stealing outside, they have dragged the name of the police in the mud,” he said.
The fired cops, Constables Sempe Theko, 29, from Ha-Tjopa in Thaba-Bosiu and Poloko Lehoko, 31, of Ha-Kholoko in Roma are still in custody awaiting their case in the Maseru Magistrate’s Court.
They were charged with aggravated theft of two AK47 rifles. The two were granted bail of M3 000 each and a surety of M10 000 each that they both failed to pay.
So they were remanded in custody and will make a second appearance in court on a date yet to be announced. They were both arrested two weeks ago after stealing the rifles assigned to the Special Operations Unit (SOU), housed at the Mabote Police Station.
They were members of the SOU. Commissioner Molibeli said he first suspended them using section 31 (i) of the Lesotho Mounted Police Act of 1998 until he finally reached the decision to fire them on Tuesday.
“Therefore, from today they are not with us,” he said.
In an earlier statement, the police said investigations had shown that the guns went missing in the presence of Theko even though he was not on duty on that day. The statement said after stealing the guns Theko took them to Lehoko for safekeeping.
“Investigations reveal that the suspects later passed the rifles to another suspect who is at large and (is) suspected to be hiding in the South African illegal mines,” the statement reads.
Meanwhile, the police have since reported that guns are stolen at a high rate in their stations. A few weeks ago the police commissioner said they were still looking for 23 guns that went missing at the police car theft department.
Commissioner Molibeli said the guns disappeared during a take-over by a new station commander at the Theft Detention and Counter Robbery Crime Unit (RCTs).
He said the investigation is still going on. Meanwhile, four Basotho men were found in possession of two illegal pistols in South Africa two weeks ago.
They were arrested by the South African police in Virginia. The South African Minister of Police Bheki Cele last week expressed concerns over Basotho nationals who kill each other in the disused mines.
“These Basotho come here with their differences and kill others here,” Cele said. His utterances came shortly after an undisclosed number of bodies were found in Johannesburg just outside a disused mine.
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