...exhorts the nation to work together to fight escalating crime
...vows to act professionally always
....and never be subservient to whims of politics
NEWLY appointed Commissioner of Police, Borotho Matsoso, has spoken to the national masthead, the Lesotho Times, in his first media interview since his appointment by Prime Minister Sam Matekane last month.
Advocate Matsoso promises to do his best to combat spiralling crime. But he also emphasizes the need for the nation to work together to curb the scourge. More importantly, the police service needs to be adequately resourced to implement its mandate. Without adequate resources, the police are harm-strung in executing proper investigations raising the spectre of them engaging in unorthodox methods to try and extract confessions, even though that is wrong.
Interviewed at his official suite at the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) headquarters this week, Adv Matsoso also conceded that oftentimes security chiefs had been influenced by the governments of the day to serve their interests. Politicians in past governments persuaded security agencies to do their bidding and intimidate the opposition, especially when their regimes faced threats of collapse.
As such, security chiefs and their subordinates should sit firmly on the saddle and professionally execute their roles "without falling under political influences", he said.
If anything, security chiefs had the mandate to guide politicians, showing them that their demands were in direct contravention of the set requirements of law enforcement.
Adv Matsoso is an old hand as far as policing is concerned, having dealt with crime at different levels.
He began his career in the LMPS, leaving the service in 2003 at the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to serve as the inaugural Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO) director-general.
He would five years later in 2008, leave the DCEO for the Revenue Services Lesotho (RSL) formerly the (Lesotho Revenue Authority-LRA), where he served as Assistant Commissioner - Intelligence and Investigations. He also had a stint at the Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL).
He would in 2013, rejoin the DCEO in his previous capacity. Five years later in 2018 (four months before his contract expired) he was removed by former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane.
Thereafter, Adv Matsoso was appointed Inspector-General of Police, a position he held until his latest return to the LMPS, two decades later, but now at its helm.
Adv Matsoso discussed his new role, the myriad issues bedevilling the LMPS and his plan for the police service's much needed makeover with the Lesotho Times (LT)'s political reporter, Mohloai Mpesi, and cub reporter Letsatsi Selikoe.
Excerpts:
LT: To start with, how do you feel about your new appointment as the new Commissioner of Police?
Matsoso: The pressure is too high because one comes here to take on the very difficult job of policing the nation. Our country has very big problems directly linked to crime. We experience criminal activities of murder, theft and others. So, it is a very difficult thing to tackle, especially in these trying times. It's a very difficult task.
As a Mosotho, I think it is upon us all to solve this problem facing this country. It is upon us to rescue this country. Like every Mosotho, I feel that it is my duty to do it the way it is supposed to be done.
If there is anything I can do any better, I ask God to help me fulfil that. That's what I intend to do right now. If it was my choice, I would not have opted for this job. But for my country and the people, I've no option but to take it. No matter how difficult it is, it must be shouldered by a Mosotho child.
LT: In which fields have you worked on and how do you think the expertise and experience you accumulated, prepared you for the herculean task of running the LMPS?
Matsoso: I have served in law enforcement throughout my career. I worked in the police service, I worked at Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO). I went to Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA) (now Revenue Services Lesotho).
I worked at the Central Bank of Lesotho, then returned to the DCEO again. Thereafter I joined the Police Inspectorate as Inspector of Police, responsible for overseeing implementation of the police service's annual plans. It was still law enforcement, although it was from a different angle.
I have seen the police service from inside, I worked in it. I went outside and looked at it from outside. That has been helpful to me... I realised its limitations and what should be done.
Now, I am back and that has helped me to see the police service's potential and weaknesses, and what should be done.
LT: As a person who has held the senior position of DG at the DCEO, how did you manage to stay free from political influence and how do you intend to maintain that in this new role?
Matsoso: We must admit that we are living in a democratic country, you cannot just wish away the politics. They are there, and they will always be there. What you must maintain is professionalism.
The police are directed by the Lesotho Mounted Police Service Act, 1997, which is very straight forward. That's what we must stick to. Crime is crime and if it is not, it is not.
Let politicians say whatever they want to say, that's their business, they have to say it. If they don't push their agendas wherever they want to push them, they would not be politicians. But you must be professional. Sit tight on that saddle and do what you are supposed to do.
You must do what you know better. Failure to do so means you are going to fail. I really don't want to blame politicians for meddling in the affairs of the police services. But you must remain a professional police officer.
I think I have met many of them (politicians) in different colours. I don't regard them as bad people. For as long as you know what your duties are, you can never go wrong. We are the professionals here. We must guide them and teach them to seek to do the right thing.
A politician will always have a political interest. That is what he is best in. But as a professional, help the government of the day to get it right in line with the laws of this country.
LT: You come in as a Commissioner of Police at a time when crime is at its peak, especially the skyrocketing murder rates that include the famo music gangs that were recently outlawed. What do you think the correct approach would be, to combat criminal activities?
Matsoso: I think this is the best approach as far as I am concerned (outlawing the famo gangs), because these groups were out of hand, and we would not be able to correct them. We needed decisive action to arrest the situation.
Remember, there have been attempts before to foster peace among the warring famo gangs. They tried to bring them together to build peace, but they failed because they would in no time resume killing each other again.
You will go and talk with them, they will say please let's smoke the peace-pipe and that very evening they go back to doing the same things, singing the same derogatory songs and wearing those blankets. So, this is the best way I think.
It is now a question of implementation. When you come and say you have quit the famo gangs, why should we chase you? Unless there are crimes that you have committed at that time (before quitting) which you have to answer for. There is no amnesty in that regard.
These people could have competed in useful endeavours instead of fighting and killing each other. They could have been building schools, sponsoring athletic games and so on..... That way you bring development in your community.
Although there will be questions as to where their money is coming from, let's leave that one for now. But whatever money you have got, don't use it to kill another. Use it for the benefit of people.
Some may question why we don't arrest them? After committing these crimes, they run to South Africa, and it is a lot of work to hunt them. But once you commit crime, know that the net will one day close on you.
I advise them to be heroes of good things, they can sponsor horseraces, traditional dances and others. Not heroes of heinous murders and intimidating other people to worship them.
LT: Some famo leaders have openly said that police officers are members of their groups. How do you intend to root out this problem from the police service? Are there officers who have already been arrested or dismissed from service for their active role in famo killings or receiving bribes from these gangs?
Matsoso: There are officers who took bribes, and they were dismissed from work. Others, we are still receiving intelligence to confirm if they are indeed taking bribes.
We haven't yet found any concrete evidence that some of the officers are indeed famo gang members. But there is some intelligence to that effect that we are following up. We won't tolerate any officers partaking in criminal activities. We are still collecting evidence and if we establish that anyone in our ranks is helping these criminal gangs, we will not hesitate to take decisive action.
That (becoming famo gang members) is against what we have taken oath for. They took the oath to protect this nation. But now, this is criminality, and they must stop it. If we find them, we will not hesitate to take action against them, because they would be defiling who we are (as police officers).
If any officer wants to be an outlaw, they are free to leave the police and go join them. That way we will face them, knowing that we don't have snitches anymore, but that we are dealing with the enemy. The enemy within us is more dangerous than the one outside. I know these famo people entice them with money, but that is blood money, and that is wrong. We will not tolerate any of our members living on that money...
LT: Has the task team established by former acting COMPOL Mahlape Morai to probe LMPS officers suspected to be members of famo gangs, arrested any officers? If yes, how many?
Matsoso: There are no arrests in that regard thus far, we are still working on it. I found it still in process, it is ongoing. We will get to the core of it very soon.
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LT: Often, we hear of people who died during interrogation, perhaps because they were tortured as officers try to force confessions out of them. How are you going to ensure that behaviour comes to an end, and Basotho begin to see police as friends who protect them?
Matsoso: We are on it. Recently, we were telling the police officers that the nation is not happy about their services. People complain that police officers insult and torture them. That does not translate into our slogan of 'A Police: a Helper, a Friend'. We need to put that (slogan) into practice. We are going to instil that in them. Even from our training programmes we are still going to teach them about the professional etiquette expected of a police officer. They must fully appreciate that even if you torture a suspect, whatever evidence you get out of that torture amounts to nothing. It is as good as nothing. It's inadmissible. It doesn't help an investigator to torture suspects. In the same vein, the police officers are not supposed to be undermined when doing their work properly.
LT: As a seasoned former cop, what would you say is the primary factor behind the police torturing suspects to force confessions out of them? Is it due to poor training or are there some underlying factors?
Matsoso: Firstly, lack of resources to get evidence. In order to file a case in court, you need enough evidence. Without adequate resources, police then resort to torture until one implicates themselves.
Resources are very important to assist police officers as their availability will help curb the ill practice of suspects being subjected to torture. We also need to initiate training for our police officers and refresher courses, to remind them the basics of investigations.
What are the elements and practices of gathering evidence? How do you get circumstantial evidence? Training in all these areas is very important to build a firm police officer who will not torture people.
We should respect human rights. As much as we might call you a criminal, you are a human being at the end of the day....
The bottom line is that the police service needs resources to implement these things. We need funds to train them. So, it is still a long journey to transform the police service and place it where it should be.
LT: The LMPS launched a campaign last month where citizens were told to surrender illegal firearms and dangerous weapons. The campaign ended last week on the 5th of June. How did the police work in that regard? How many firearms did you collect?
Matsoso: Unfortunately, I have not checked the progress so far, but you know how conservative Basotho are. When you tell them to surrender illegal firearms, they think one is playing.
