Maseru-Bitterness is one of the things that makes the recruits lash out their fury on inmates. This was said by Correctional Officer Tumelo Makhunoane when making submissions before the Commission of Inquiry on the escape of inmates, on the search exercise that was conducted at Maseru Central Correctional Institution (MCCI) on December 22, 2023, which resulted in the assault of inmates, leaving one paralysed.
Officer Makhunoane said they lack inspiration as they earn little wages and have since been promised it would be revised. “It has been five years since we arrived at the institution and promised every month that our salaries would be increased,” he said.
He additionally guaranteed the Commission that what happened to them on the above mentioned date would never happen again as it was pointless for them to have used force when searching inmates. In another issue, Officer Makhunoane was caught up earlier by numerous inmates in their testaments before the Commission by revealing that they saw him in Block C when inmates were assaulted.
Nevertheless, he maintained that he was not in that block during the search,” I only did the search in block A and maximum” he stressed. Remarking on this matter, the Commission’s Chairperson Justice Realeboha Mathaba reminded Makhunoane that he did not cross examine inmates who claimed he was in block C when he was given a chance to do so.
Temporarily, both officers and their superiors earlier showed in their evidences that they have lost determination due to salaries, which have not been reviewed for years and littler as compared to that of other security agencies.
However, the recruits, who implicated Maseru Central Correctional Institution (MCCI) Officials say they do not have any reason to falsely incriminate them.
This they said when being cross examined before the Commission of Inquiry on the escape of inmates, by MCCI Commander, Assistant Commissioner Manaka, his second in charge Senior Superintendent Mahlelebe and Correctional Service Training School Commander, Assistant Commissioner Nthako.
The three are suspected to have picked up the cries of inmates as they passed by in Block C during the search exercise that was conducted at MCCI on December 22, 2023. One Correctional Officer Thabo Moiloa said he had no intention to implicate the trio, saying the cries of inmates were so loud that it was unbearable for anyone in that block not to have heard them.
On the other hand, Khosi Hlalele and numerous witnesses told the Commission earlier in their testimonies that the trio must have heard the cries of inmates based on how loud they were. “The cries were still there when they passed by and were from several prison cells” said Hlalele, saying he could not recall inmates being assaulted in the passageway as the trio passed by.
However, Assistant Commissioner Manaka said Moiloa was insincerely incriminating him as one of the officers whom he recognized assaulting the late Bokang Tsoako who escaped from prison. He further said the divisions of witnesses were conflicting as others said no one was in the corridor in block C when they passed, others said recruits pretended they were doing nothing and that their Instructor said there was no noise and no inmate was assaulted when they passed by.
He additionally said some inmates and recruits collaborated against MCCI management with the aim to implicate them so that punitive action could not be taken against involved officers. Meanwhile the trio have since denied hearing cries of inmates when cross examining the witnesses who associated them, saying the inmates were not assaulted when they passed by.
The recruits are continuing to testify on the events of December 22 last year and some admitted that they assaulted the inmates while others are still denying assaulting them.
