Business leaders want crackdown on robberies

MASERU – THE business community in Lesotho yesterday asked Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli to crack whip on rogue police who take bribes instead of fighting crime.
Speaking through their association, the Lesotho Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the business leaders said they were concerned with the rising cases of robbery that were not being investigated and prosecuted.
The business leaders called Commissioner Molibeli to an indaba in Maseru yesterday.

They said they were tired of the rising incidents of violent crime at their business premises.
They also wanted Commissioner Molibeli to crack down on unregistered businesses.
They said their businesses are compromised by the increasing number of unlicensed businesses in every corner of the country and the police were not doing anything about it.
One of the LCCI members, ’Malitlolo Morojele, said the police are very corrupt.

She urged the commissioner to restore their trust in the police.
Morojele said some of the police officers are so reckless that they attend cases drunk and fail to provide solutions.
The police only prioritise the case when there is a dead person, she said.
Commissioner Molibeli said every day he gets a report indicating that a business owner had either been murdered or robbed.

He said he is also aware that “Lesotho is known for taking bribes and murders and that is a big crisis”.
He said just like they have dealt with the pirate taxis, they are also going to deal with these matters accordingly.

“The police are mandated to help the community and that is what they are willing to do,” Commissioner Molibeli said.
He said they are under-resourced and even Minister Prince Maliehe was shocked when he saw the extent to which they lacked resources.
“Many stations in the country have no cars and it makes it very difficult to attend to cases efficiently,” he said.

He urged everyone to help the police because it is not in their hands only to make sure that every station has enough cars.
“As the police we are under-resourced and we’re unable to do some of the things (we want). If we were other government employees we would just sit and do nothing because sometimes we even lack the mere electricity and the papers to write on.”

He said police need resources in order to protect the community and ensure economic growth.
People die in police custody during interrogation and Commissioner Molibeli said it is because the police were not getting proper training.
He said they are not able to even train the detective officers because they don’t have money for that.

He said some police officers don’t even have the uniform and they can’t possibly go on road blocks.
The commissioner said he will continue advocating for the police officers to be well capacitated.

The president of the LCCI, Ntaote Seboka, said it is very crucial that the commissioner helps the business owners and protect them from the robbers.
“Many people are afraid to start their own businesses because they are afraid that they will be killed by the robbers,” Seboka said.

‘Mamakhooa Rapolaki