Mohalenyane Phakela
THE Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) has accused former army commander, Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli, and other high-profile detainees of “demonising” the LCS with “false allegations” about the conditions of the Maseru Central Correctional Institution (MCCI) where they are currently detained.
Lt-Gen Kamoli and other serving and former members of the security agencies have been detained at the facility since 2017 awaiting trial for various offences including the murder of former army commander, Lt-Gen Maaparankoe Mahao, and treason against the first government of former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane.
They have petitioned the Constitutional Court to permanently stop their trials. (See story on Page 4).
They argue that they have been in custody for far too long and the delays in trying them are an infringement of their constitutional rights to speedy and fair trials.
They also argue that they should be released from prison because the holding cells are overcrowded, unhygienic and filthy.
They allege that there is no running water in the Maseru prison and they are forced to bath in buckets of ice-cold water as there are no geysers at the correctional facility. They said three prisoners were made to share a blanket thus exposing them to killer diseases such as Tuberculosis. They said as a result of the congestion and unhygienic conditions, diseases were prevalent in the prison.
However, their allegations have been denied by the LCS inmates’ rehabilitation and welfare officer, Superintendent Limpho Lebitsa, in his court affidavit filed last Friday in opposition to their application.
Supt Lebitsa said Lt-Gen Kamoli and his co-applicants were determined to scandalise the LCS through false allegations to secure their release from prison.
He denied allegations that the inmates were at times denied access to medical attention and they had to wait a long time before seeing a nurse in prison. He also denied that there was a shortage of medicines in prison.
“I wish to place it on record that this court has an inherent power to prevent the abuse of its process by frivolous or vexatious proceedings by applicants to conduct their case in a manner that demonises the MCCI,” Supt Lebitsa states in his court papers.
“They (high-profile inmates) make averments that a mattress meant for one individual inmate is shared by three people. This is incorrect. I vouch for a fact that each inmate sleeps on his own mattress and that it is an offence for inmates to share a mattress.
“We also facilitate their consultations with their lawyers, doctors and visitations by human rights groups I confirm that they are attended to by their private doctors and at times they consult with them in the institution whenever it is convenient for them to do so.
“It is incorrect that medication is lacking at MCCI’s health clinic or that they are bound to wait for weeks to see a nurse. It seems to me neither logical nor practicable to say that nurses abuse their discretion in refusing any of the applicants to consult doctors of their choice. This has never happened.”
He denied allegations that the detainees were locked up in overcrowded cells.
“The applicants are staying at the New Block where they enjoy better facilities than the rest of the inmates. They stay individually in single cells with running water, hot showers and televisions.
“The New Block houses suspects classified according to the magnitude of the offences they are alleged to have committed because they require tightened security around the clock. I refrain from publishing the list of names of those staying at New Block for security reasons.”
Supt Lebitsa further said that the high-profile inmates hardly ate meals prepared in prison. He said they usually threw the food into bins after being served just to spite the LCS officers.
“The true state of affairs is that applicants hardly eat food from the prison. They take the food and throw it into the bin in a manner that is meant to undermine the management of the institution. They essentially prefer to eat food from their homesteads. The only time they were conscripted to eat the meals prepared at our facility was during the time when we adhered to strict restrictions of the lockdown.”
In response to the issue of ticks in prison, Supt Lebitsa said, “I have been reliably informed that it cannot be true that there are insects in prison. There are health inspectors who regularly inspect the place.”
He proposed an investigation into the prison conditions to disprove the allegations by Lt-Gen Kamoli and his co-applicants.
“In view of the picture that has been painted about MCCI in the affidavits of the applicants and their circulation in the print media and broadcasting platforms, the prison conditions must be investigated for this court to pronounce upon the correctness of the views I have expressed in this affidavit,” Supt Lebitsa states in his court papers.
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