Judgment in Khetheng murder deferred

…as accused police officers remain in suspense

Moorosi Tsiane

THE long-awaited judgment in the murder trial of Police Constable (PC) Mokalekale Khetheng has been postponed to 24 August, leaving the fate of the four accused police officers hanging in the balance for another three weeks.

What was expected to be the day of reckoning instead ended in yet another delay after trial Judge Charles Hungwe revealed that he had not completed writing the judgment. The ruling, initially scheduled for 3 August 2026, has now been pushed back to 24 August.

Former Hlotse Police Station commander Senior Superintendent (SSP) Thabo Tšukulu, Senior Inspector Mothibeli Mofolo, Inspector Mabitle Matona and Sub-Inspector Haleokoe Taasoane face five charges, including the March 2016 murder of their fellow police officer.

The case is one of the high-profile killings that shocked the nation during the period of political instability between 2014 and 2017, when allegations of abuse of power within the country’s security agencies were rife.

PC Khetheng was allegedly arrested on arson charges but disappeared from Hlotse Police Station on 26 March 2016. Police initially claimed that he had escaped from custody, but that account later unravelled when his remains were exhumed from Lepereng Cemetery in Maseru in August 2017, triggering public outrage and renewed demands for accountability.

During closing submissions last month, Crown prosecutor Advocate (Adv) Nthabeleng Nkoe argued that the evidence pointed to a carefully orchestrated murder carried out by police officers acting in concert before embarking on an elaborate cover-up.

“My Lord, the accused stand before this court charged with five counts, including the murder of PC Khetheng. PC Khetheng’s death was not an accident. The evidence that the Crown has presented before this court shows that it was a premeditated murder,” Adv Nkoe submitted.

She argued that the prosecution had satisfied all the legal requirements to establish that the accused acted with a common purpose.

“We also submit that, with the evidence led before this court, the Crown has met all the requirements to prove that the accused acted in common purpose,” she said.

Adv Nkoe further argued that the accused attempted to conceal the crime by misleading Khetheng’s family about his whereabouts and later giving false evidence during the habeas corpus proceedings.

She also told the court that investigators were ultimately led to the site where Khetheng’s body had been dumped.

“The accused pointed out the place of the incident and that was exactly where the corpse of PC Khetheng was found. Tsukulu was furthering the plans of the then Commissioner of Police Molahlehi Letsoepa and he recruited Mofolo and Matona, who in turn recruited Taasoane,” she said.

Maintaining that the prosecution had discharged its burden of proof, Adv Nkoe concluded: “My Lord, the Crown has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and we pray that the court finds the accused guilty on all the charges they are facing.”

Defence lawyer, Adv Karabo Mohau KC, however, dismissed the prosecution’s case, accusing investigators of manufacturing evidence and coaching witnesses.

“My Lord, there is an issue concerning the conduct of the investigators in this matter, where witnesses were encouraged to fabricate evidence,” Adv Mohau argued.

He also submitted that the prosecution’s own witnesses had contradicted one another on key aspects of the case, particularly on whether PC Khetheng had ever been arrested.

“PC Khetheng was never a subject of investigation relating to acts of criminality and Crown witnesses contradicted each other on material aspects of the case,” he argued.

Adv Mohau insisted that the Crown had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and urged the court to acquit all four accused.

However, when Justice Hungwe was expected to deliver the eagerly awaited verdict this week, he informed the parties that he required more time to finalise the judgment, extending the suspense until 24 August.

The Khetheng murder case has, over the years, implicated some of the country’s most influential figures.

Minister of Labour and Employment, and Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) deputy leader, Tšeliso Mokhosi, was initially charged alongside the four police officers before the charges against him were withdrawn in July 2020. He was subsequently turned into a state witness. Mr Mokhosi served as the Minister of Defence and National Security in the Pakalitha Mosisili-led coalition government between 2015 and 2017.

Former Police Commissioner, Molahlehi Letsoepa, was also originally among the accused. He fled the country in 2017, claiming that the administration of former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane wanted to assassinate him. Although he was later removed from the original charge sheet, Letsoepa was charged separately in February last year after returning from self-imposed exile. He is currently out on bail pending a separate trial.

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