Gaborone - Fifteen wives of Lesotho Defence Force soldiers, who are in detention at the kingdom’s Maximum State prison, are in Gaborone trying to lobby the international community to intervene in what they call human rights abuses.
On the sidelines of the Southern African Development Community's Extra-Ordinary Summit of the Double Troika that started yesterday morning, the wives, led by Mamphanya Mahao, the widow of slain army commander Maaparankoe Mahao, said the international community had turned a deaf ear to their misery.
“Things changed for the worse when the children of the detained and exiled soldiers organised a get-together on June 5 to remember their fathers.
“When we tried to visit them in prison, we realised that the visitation conditions have been changed and each individual is guarded by four armed men,” said one of the women, whose name cannot be revealed for fear of further victimisation.
“They have also limited the visiting hours, and have threatened to kill both the children and their fathers should the children continue to organise any form of activity in connection with the detained soldiers.
“They said they have tried to explore all legal routes to resolve the matter but there seems to be a serious disregard for the rule of law in the country,” another woman added.
In a letter they wrote to the extra-ordinary summit, they stated: “The five senior officers in detention were placed in solitary confinement for a period of three days, being punishment for the children organising the Father’s Day celebrations.
“The prison officer further warned that if the intended celebrations continued, our husbands would forfeit extra blankets allocated for the cold winter period, which were bought to them by their families.
“This is part of the torture and humiliation that our husbands are subjected to,” the women said.
They further revealed that Mahao’s dogs were recently poisoned, and a private surgery where they normally take their husbands for medical check-ups was broken into and medical records were stolen.
“Further, we wish to express our disappointment that the government of Lesotho is not willing to address similar concerns raised by us to them.
“We believe that the government approves of what is happening to our husbands,” they said.
The 24 soldiers were detained last year and charged with planning a mutiny. Eight of them have since been granted bail. Another 26 are in exile in South Africa.
The Star