“We were following orders”- Soldier tells court in Tang murder trial

MASERU

The High Court this week heard testimony from Sergeant TjekaneSebolai, one of the soldiers accused of murdering 23-year-old Lisebo Tang in May 2014 near the home of former Army Commander, Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli.
Taking the stand as the seventh defence witness, Sebolai told the Court that everything he and his co-accused did on the night of Tang’s death was done under military orders, not personal intentions.
Sebolai and his co-accused, Private Selone Ratšiu, are facing charges arising from the shooting that shocked the country more than a decade ago. They have long maintained that they only acted under command authority, a claim that was repeated and expanded upon in court.
In his testimony, Sebolai explained that on the night of May 9, 2014, he, Ratšiu and one Private Kopano Matsoso were deployed for night guard duty at the residence of Lt Gen Kamoli, who was Commander of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) at the time.
He told the court that their immediate superior on that assignment was then-Lieutenant Moletsane who issued them operational instructions for the night. According to him, they followed every order under Moletsane’s direction.
“Our duty was simple. We followed what we were told by our Platoon Commander,” Sebolai testified. 
“We did not act on our own. We acted on orders.”
One of the key instructions given to them that night, Sebolai said, was to remain alert for a specific vehicle believed to be involved in a series of bombings targeting high-profile individuals.
He testified that they were told the car had been used to throw explosive devices at the homes of former First Lady LiabiloeRamoholi and the then Commissioner of Police, KhothatsoTšooana. According to him, intelligence suggested the attackers might strike again, this time at the army commander’s residence.
“We were told the vehicle was wanted by the police, wanted by the army, wanted everywhere,” Sebolai said. 
“Our job was to watch, protect and make sure the Commander was safe”. 
He explained that the soldiers were on high alert, believing a deadly attack could take place at any moment.
Adding to the tense atmosphere surrounding their deployment, Sebolai testified that there was information circulating within the army that the police were also planning to arrest Lieutenant General Kamoli. 
He said the soldiers had been warned that the arrest would not be peaceful and could escalate into a violent confrontation.
“There was intelligence that the police were coming for the Commander,” he said. 
“And we were told it would not be a good arrest, it was expected to be hostile.”
This claim, made under oath, paints a picture of a night charged with fear, suspicion and military paranoia conditions which, according to Sebolai, shaped how the soldiers responded to events that unfolded near the Commander’s gate.
While Sebolai gave details of the orders and intelligence they allegedly received, he did not go into the full sequence of events that led directly to Lisebo Tang’s death. 
The court had previously heard that Tang was shot near the Commander’s home on the night of the suspected events by guards who were on duty.
The prosecution argued that the soldiers acted unlawfully and used excessive force. 
However, the defence maintains that the soldiers believed they were confronting a serious threat, influenced by the briefings and warnings they had received earlier that evening.
Sebolai’s testimony forms a critical piece of the defence’s narrative that the accused soldiers were acting within a chain of command during a period of extreme security tension in the country.
By emphasising that they were following orders from Lt Moletsane and responding to intelligence provided by their superiors, the defence aims to show the court that the soldiers did not harbour personal intent to kill or harm anyone.