The government of the Kingdom of Lesotho has written a letter of apology to President Cyril Ramaphosa expressing regret over criminal acts committed by Basotho in South Africa.
The Kingdom of Lesotho is worried that the increasing accusations against their citizens in serious criminal activities in South Africa could ruin diplomatic relations between the two countries, Sowetan Live reported this week.
On Tuesday, Lesotho placed the allegations high on its weekly cabinet meeting agenda, wrote the publication, following reports coming from South Africa alleging that illegal miners from Lesotho had raped a group of women who were shooting a music video in Krugersdorp, on the West Rand, recently.
According to reports, Lesotho’s foreign affairs and international relations minister Matsepo Ramakoae said a team had been assembled to work closely with Home Affairs in South Africa to gather information on the allegations, as cited in a “Business Day” report on Thursday.
“Nobody can fully confirm that Lesotho citizens are involved in increasing criminal cases in SA, but we are aware of these claims,” the Business Day report quoted Ramakoae as saying.
and this is the best Lesotho can offer!!! Apology net. I think RSA should by Lesotho and add to FS
— Inspire them with your actions (@InspireLesele) August 5, 2022
To achieve United borderless Africa we need to sort out our internal households issues 1st, #ZamaZamas #capitec #KagisoShutDown pic.twitter.com/eLu6RhE8Ig
Former acting Gauteng police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni said he could not confirm whether the suspects were involved in illegal mining.
According to authorities, they found the suspects lying on the floor. “The community happened to surround the people, we managed to come in with our specialised units and managed to rescue 19 people, we took them to the police station, processed them and we found that they are illegal in the country.”
Mthombeni said the suspects were still in custody.
During the raid, at least 20 people were arrested for engaging in illegal mining.
Listening to Lesotho general, it's pretty clear South Africa is the only country which couldn't care less about safety of her people in SADC region. Law abiding Zim nationals are on record saying Zim criminals in SA would never do what they're doing here back home.
— Tat'uRadebe (@hlubizer) August 5, 2022
I was terribly surprised that the SA government doesn’t show any interest in this Lesotho gov invitation: Some of these Basotho guys have committed horrible crimes in Lesotho and fled to SA and turn into vulnerable and harmless immigrants who need our sympathy
— Black Sergey Lavrov🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦 (@SergeyLavrovSA) August 5, 2022
This week, Gauteng police said they rescued 19 illegal people who were apprehended by angry protesters in Kagiso after they were also allegedly implicated in illegal mining.
IOL