Mahao murder witness grilled

MASERU – THE second witness in the murder trial of Lieutenant General Maaparankoe Mahao had a torrid time in court yesterday under cross-examination.

’Marethabile Molibeli, who during her testimony wept inconsolably when she recalled the murder incident, told Justice Charles Hungwe that she saw everything that happened on the day.

Testifying in between sobs and heavy sighs, Molibeli said she saw how the soldiers who killed Lt Gen Mahao dragged his bruised body on the ground.

She said the soldiers were rough in handling Mahao with the soldiers turning countless times while kicking him.

“Two men dragged his face on the ground for about five minutes,” Molibeli said.

She said later Mahao was thrown into the back of one of the cars that were at the scene.

Molibeli said she heard a voice from one of the soldiers shouting on the phone that “we have found him”.

During cross-examination, Molibeli said she could not recall well what had transpired on the day.

She said she was not just focusing on the scene of the killing but on some other family errands.

Molibeli also claimed that she could hear most of the conversations as her house is close to the road.

Defence lawyer, Advocate Silas Ratau, however told her that she was lying as her house is far from the road and as a result could not see clearly what was happening.

Advocate Ratau told Molibeli that she was the only one who had told the court that Lt Gen Mahao was dragged, kicked and thrown to the back of the car.

“I put it to you that you are a liar and you insist on lying to the court because you are trying to please someone,” Advocate Ratau said.

He said Molibeli had contradicted herself and other witnesses, including her son, who testified before her and others who are yet to take the witness stand.

Others who are expected to take the witness stand are two of Mahao’s nephews who were with him when he was murdered.

Advocate Ratau said the nephew, Mabilikoe Mahao, in his statement said the soldiers had tried to put Mahao’s body at the back of the car.

But they placed him in the back seat of the 4X4 car and immediately drove off.

When the court asked if her statement was different from that of Mabilikoe, she said they were indeed different.

She insisted that hers was the correct one.

Advocate Ratau asked why Mabilikoe would not include such horrifying information in her statement, especially because it involved her relative and would want justice for him.

Molibeli responded that Mabilikoe “was scared and besides that everyone has to testify what they have individually witnessed”.

Molibeli also said she did not see a nearby worker who was painting road marks, who was the first eye-witness to testify.

She also said she did not see people who were in the truck with Lt Gen Mahao.

In the statement she gave to the police, she said there were two men who were with Lt Gen Mahao in the truck but under the cross-examination she said she did not see them.

Molibeli told the court that the police did not write what she told them.

When asked where his son was during the incident, she told the court that he was inside the house.

“I told you that you are a liar. Your son was not inside the house rather he was outside roasting maize,” Advocate Ratau said.

He told Molibeli that from his son’s written statement, he never mentioned anything about someone being kicked and being dragged.

Her son is expected to take the witness stand as a witness.

“Your son said he saw someone falling and being taken to the car,” he said.

“I have nothing to say as my child was only 13-years-old and did not see clearly what was happening,” Molibeli said.

She however insisted that her version of the story was the correct one.

Molibeli said when the police took the statements, she told them everything she had seen.

“So why did your son say something different from what you are saying?” Advocate Ratau quipped.

Advocate Ratau argued that Molibeli’s testimony was “a pure lie because all she said nobody had mentioned”.

“You told the court in confidence that it took the man 30 minutes to depart from the scene after throwing the body at the back of the car but none of the other witnesses mentioned that,” he said.

Molibeli kept on saying “that’s how they witnessed the incident and that is how I witnessed it”.

She also said the police wrote what she never said.

When asked to identify which parts in the statement she did not say, she said she could not because she had an eye-sight problem.

The lead prosecutor, Advocate Shaun Abrahams, asked her to read a certain portion of her statement, in an effort to show the court that her vision was blurred, but she read.

Attorney Qhalehang Letsika, one of the defence lawyers, also said Molibeli had lied to the court.

Attorney Letsika said it was impossible for Molibeli to have witnessed what had transpired on the road while at her house because it was surrounded by trees.

Molibeli then changed her statement and told the court that she was focusing on her laundry when she heard the gunshots.

She said she sometimes had to go inside the house to check her cooking several times.

She said she believed she was passed by some events while she was still in the house and busy putting laundry on the line.

Advocate Napo Mafaesa said if she was indeed situated nearer to the road she could have witnessed the people painting the road and that her statement could have somehow been the same as her son’s.

’Malimpho Majoro