‘Mantšali Phakoana
The six inmates who escaped from the Maseru Maseru Central Correctional Institution (MCCI) on the night of December 21, 2023 took advantage of an unattended tower, a Commission of Inquiry into the incident heard yesterday.
The escape was followed by torture of nine soldiers awaiting trial in the custody of the LCS by officers on December 22, 2023.
Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) staff who testified before the commission yesterday submitted that since the departure of the members of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) who were deployed at the institution, the prison management had not deployed new officers to the tower. This posed a security threat at the facility.
The commission also heard that on the night of the two incidents, correctional officers were only deployed on A, B and C towers. These are designed in a way that an officer on duty is only able to see the view of the Maseru Central Correctional Institution (MCCI) and not Maximum Facility where the torture of the inmates took place.
The staffers were summoned to testify before the commission led by Justice Realeboha Mathaba established to investigate the circumstances that led to the escape and the torture of the inmates during an alleged search operation inside the Maseru Central Prison on December 21, 2023.
Sergeant Tšoeu Sekhohola, who was on duty on the night of the incidents told the commission that the tower was unattended due to lack of staff.
He said the non-deployment of officers on that tower was foreseen as a security risk since the departure of the LDF staff, but his superiors failed to address this.
Sergeant Sekhohola added that he and other staff in management positions had informed their senior, Chief Officer Mokotla Thamae, that there was a serious need for officers to be deployed at the tower to ensure the safety of inmates and prison officers.
According to Sergeant Sekhohola, Chief Officer Thamae kept on promising that someone would be posted there but this was only done after the escape incident.
“Since the soldiers who were deployed there departed, I noticed there was a need for new officers to be deployed at the tower in order to observe incidents in the Maximum. I then advised accordingly since I don’t make final decisions,” he said.
Sergeant Sekhohola also indicated that had his supervisors taken his concerns seriously, none of the incidents could have happened.
“I also see negligence and carelessness on the part of my superiors as they did not prioritise the matter, although it was crucial.”
He further noted that he did not know about Chief Officer Thamae’s whereabouts during the two incidents until the alarm went off. It was only that the latter showed up with other officers.
The commission earlier heard a testimony from Sergeant Sekhohola’s senior, one Mabathoana, that on December 15, 2023, he had noticed a metal object suspected to be from a geyser in the cell where the inmates escaped from. The metal was alleged to have been used to break the cell wall.
However, Sergeant Sekhohola said he was off duty on the said date but since he returned on December 18, 2023, he never saw the object, and no metal seems to have been from the geyser. Even on the night of the escape, he had searched the cell but did not find anything.
“I did not see the metal referred to. I searched the cells including where the inmates escaped from on that night. Since we conduct different searches, I only inspected the walls and checked without searching their belongings. It is possible that the inmates left with the metal hidden, or they hid it somewhere in the cell,” he said.
The commission also asked Sergeant Sekhohola if he was around when Chief Officer Thamae assaulted an inmate who first reported that some inmates had escaped, but he said he did not see such.
In his testimony, Correctional Officer Thato Mafihlea, who was based on C-Tower said his duty was to look at the C-yard (based at the Central Facility) only. He also explained that each one of them had been directed to do their responsibilities as directed.
He further submitted that given the way the tower is designed, he could not see what was happening in the Maximum Facility because it is situated at back of the tower, and the window in that direction was very small and high.
Mafihlea told the commission that while on duty that night, he heard someone whistling and immediately went out of the tower and down the building where he found another officer, who had also heard the whistle.
He said he then told the officer to find out what was happening from the cell the whistle was coming from.
“I heard him when he was asking an inmate what help he needed and the inmate told him that other inmates had escaped. I then phone called Chief Officer Lepetla who was at the Central, and told him about the incident.
“During our shifts, each one of us are assigned to specific posts and we are expected to carry out our responsibilities. In this case mine was just to keep an eye on the C-yard.
“Given the way the towers are designed here, there is no way an officer in the C-tower can be able to view other yards. The tower has only three windows from left, right and centre,” Mafihlea noted.
The commission was established following an inspection by the Ombudsman, Advocate Tlotliso Polaki. Investigations by her office revealed that about 40 officers participated in the torture of inmates during the alleged routine search operation on December 22, 2023. The search on 650 inmates was conducted by 114 LCS recruits and one supervisor.
