Mohale FM ONE of the police officers accused of murdering Police Constable (PC) Mokalekale Khetheng has told the High Court that the case against him was fabricated by colleagues seeking promotion under the Thomas Thabane administration.
The trial took a dramatic turn on Monday when retired Inspector Mothibeli Mofolo alleged that police officers who investigated Khetheng’s death and later testified against him and his co-accused were rewarded with promotions by former Police Commissioner Holomo Molibeli.
Mofolo further claimed that Khetheng’s death was exploited by Mr Thabane’s All Basotho Convention (ABC) during the run-up to the 2017 general elections, after which Mr Molibeli was appointed Commissioner of Police and allegedly spearheaded efforts to implicate him and his co-accused.
Mofolo is standing trial alongside former HlotsePolice Station Commander Senior Superintendent Thabo Tšukulu, Inspector Mabitle Matona and Sub-Inspector Haleokoe Taasoane. The four are charged with the murder of PC Khetheng on 26 March 2016 and are currently remanded at the Maseru Central Correctional Institution.
PC Khetheng was arrested on allegations of arson in 2016 but was never seen alive again. Police later claimed he had escaped from custody under unclear circumstances.
His disappearance sparked national outrage, and in August 2017 his remains were exhumed from Lepereng Cemetery in Maseru, confirming that he had been secretly buried. The trial continues on 18 February with Mofolo’s cross-examination.
