Moramotse’s son disowns confessions

MASERU – IT is a family at war amid serious allegations of an incestuous relationship and murder.
This week, Thabo Moramotse, the son of Public Service Minister Lehlohonolo Moramotse who is facing a charge of murder, disowned a confession he made to a magistrate.

He said it was his uncle, Tsietsi Moramotse, who had fed the police scurrilous allegations about his family, which he says were all lies.
Moramotse is standing trial for the murder of his brother’s wife, Martha Kota-Moramotse, in June 2016.

He told High Court judge Justice Semapo Peete on Tuesday that he never confessed to a magistrate that he knew that his father was having an affair with Kota-Moramotse.
He also told the judge that he never told the magistrate that Kota-Moramotse was a witch and he had to defend himself and his wife before she could bewitch them.

The minister’s son also told the court that he did not confess to the magistrate that Kota-Moramotse harboured a desire to be an heir of the minister’s estate when he dies.
Moramotse repudiated these confessions that could give the court reasons to believe that he had an axe to grind with his sister-in-law.

Instead, he said it was his uncle Tsietsi Moramotse who fed the police this information.
In particular, he said it was Assistant Commissioner Motlatsi Mapola who should take credit for the words because he never said them in his confessions to the magistrate.

However, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Advocate Hlaefang Motinyane, put it to him that he had an ample chance to confront ACP Mapola about this when he testified as a crown witness but he chose not to.

The DPP also put it to him that he was with the magistrate alone during the confession and there is no way ACP Mapola could have known what was said.
Moramotse has also told the court that he confessed under duress after Mapola threatened him saying if he would not confess the way he wanted he would be in trouble.

He said he could not tell the magistrate this because ACP Mapola had told him that he was in control of the police headquarters and he had nowhere to run to.
The DPP said there was no way those statements could come from the police as it would be only the accused and the magistrate in the confession room.

She said he had an opportunity to tell the magistrate the truth or to have laid a complaint against ACP Mopola.
DPP Motinyane argued the entire confession originated from Thabo and not Mapola as he alleged.

She went further to put to him that he said he hired a gunman to kill the deceased as she was in a rush to secure his father’s inheritance and wanted her husband to be an heir in the family.

“I put to you that ACP Mapola would not have known about all of this information,” she said.

DPP said those are family private matters which the police would not have known.
Moramotse said he does not know anything about the so-called love affairs and inheritance as it was put to him by ACP Mapola.

“He forced me to make those serious allegations. I ended up saying that to the magistrate because I was under duress,” he said.

’Malimpho Majoro