MASERU
The widow of the late Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) Commander, Lieutenant General ‘Maaparankoe Mahao, has told the High Court that the Government of Lesotho was forced to establish the Phumaphi Commission of Inquiry after mounting pressure from the family, civic groups, the international community and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Throughout the week, ‘Mamphanya Mahao was under cross-examination in the trial of nine soldiers, including Army Commander Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli, who are charged with the murder of her husband.
She said the Mahao family, devastated by the killing, refused to be silent and demanded accountability. Their calls were amplified by international voices, local civic organisations and SADC, which eventually compelled the government to act.
“The government never wanted the commission in the first place. They only established it because of the pressure we applied,” Mrs Mahao testified.
She told the court that even after the commission was established, the government of the time made every effort to frustrate its work.
“They resisted the inquiry at every turn,” she said.
She added that when the commission completed its report, the government went further by tampering with its contents.
“The report that was eventually presented was not the same as the original. Some of its contents were removed,” she revealed.
Mrs Mahao also recalled that the government outright rejected the commission’s findings at the time. She said the then Prime Minister openly declared that the SADC decisions “would never see the light of the day” because they were not compulsory.
For her, this was further proof that the authorities were determined to protect those implicated in her husband’s killing rather than deliver justice.
Her testimony adds to a long-running narrative of mistrust between the Mahao family and the state.
Since 2015, the family has consistently accused the government and the military of covering up the circumstances of Lt Gen Mahao’s death.
The SADC Commission’s first step is seen as a step towards accountability, but the Lesotho government’s refusal to fully embrace disappointed the family.
To this day, Mrs Mahao says the wounds remain open.
During cross-examination, Advocate Letuka Molati, one of the defence lawyers, pressed Mrs Mahao about the family’s reliance on international support. She firmly responded that without the pressure from SADC and other groups, the government would never have investigated the killing.
“They never acted out of goodwill. They only acted because they had no choice,” she said.
The trial of the nine soldiers, among them Lt Gen Kamoli, continues to unfold in the High Court. The accused face charges relating to the fatal shooting of Lt Gen Mahao who was considered a reformist and a potential leader within the army.
The case, which has dragged on for years remains one of the most closely watched in Lesotho’s history. It highlights not only the deep divisions within the country’s security forces but also the tension between the state and international bodies calling for accountability.
For the Mahao family, however, the fight is personal.
“We will not stop until justice is done,” Mrs Mahao told the court.
