GOVERNMENT spokesperson, Thabo Sekonyela, has fiercely defended the government and the army, against accusations that they are fomenting human right violations in Lesotho.
This after some of Lesotho's civic groups accused Prime Minister Sam Matekane and deputy army boss, Major-General Matela Matobakele, of seeking to violate human rights in the name of combating crime and protecting the rule of law.
The civic groups were referring to Mr Matekane and Maj-Gen Matobakele's recent speeches at Makoanyane Barracks during a reception ceremony for Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) troops returning from Mozambique.
The Law Society of Lesotho (LSL), Lesotho Lawyers for Human Rights (LLHM) and local civic group, Section 2, had condemned Mr Matekane and Maj-Gen Matobakele's utterances, labelling them antagonistic and unconstitutional, and promoting violence in the name of upholding the rule of law.
They had also called on government and the army to withdraw and retract the "unconstitutional" statements.
But according to Mr Sekonyela, the statements were in fact a demonstration of the government's commitment to promoting the rule of law and protecting Lesotho's security.
In his speech, Mr Matekane had instructed army commander, Lieutenant General Mojalefa Letsoela, to unleash the full might of the military against perpetrators of crime in Lesotho, particularly rampant famo gangs whose incessant revenge killings have spread like wildfire across Lesotho.
In his delivery, an incensed Maj-Gen Matobakele, had threatened to take action against lawyers who sued the army on behalf of famo gangsters "assaulted" by soldiers.
He suggested those lawyers needed to "taste the medicine" by being assaulted also.
Premier Matekane had said it was imperative for the LDF to rescue Lesotho by using its muscle to restore peace in the country. He had lamented the fact that Lesotho was now ranked number two in the global murder charts.
But according to Mr Sekonyela, as a senior officer of an institution mandated to protect the rule of law, it was frustrating for Maj-Gen Matobakele to have to look on as the army's efforts were seemingly undermined by lawyers and courts who, on the face of it, protected suspects.
"Their claims that the Deputy Commander Major General Matela Matobakele threatened judicial officers and human rights defenders at the same event, by saying the army will visit and inflict on them the similar pain the victims of violence feel, is a distortion of facts and a fallacy," Mr Sekonyela said.
"....At the observation that human rights activists, defenders and presiding judges are favouring perpetrators at the expense of victims, he (Maj-Gen Matobakele) asked; would it take them to directly fall victim to these criminals to be appreciative of the danger in which the public is in as a result of these killers?"
Such a rhetorical question could not be reasonably interpreted as if he was urging soldiers to assault lawyers. That was a wrong interpretation, Mr Sekonyela said.
In the same breath, Mr Sekonyela vowed that Mr Matekane's instructions to Lt-Gen Letsoela had been taken out of context.
"The common message communicated by the same groups that the Rt. Honourable the Prime Minister instructed the army command to employ the army in the villages and do all it can to suppress the killings of the people amounts to inciting violence, is not only wrong and misleading, but is also sowing confusion among the public and undermining the government's efforts, as it is duty-bound, to protect the nation and end the senseless killings of innocent civilians," Mr Sekonyela said.
Mr Sekonyela said while the government appreciated the role of civic groups in society, in this instance they had gone "far off the mark". They had come across as groupings that had their own agendas to drive at the expense of public safety.
"While the government appreciates the role of different formations in promoting the rights and freedom of expression on behalf those who are outside the state apparatus, they should do so responsibly and truthfully without any distortion of the facts. It is the role of the government to protect citizens against misinformation.
"In this particular instance, the misinformation is peddled to distract the government from its concerted effort to fight crime. Further, it is viewed as an attempt to mobilise citizens to see the government's efforts as unnecessary, unwarranted, cruel and disturbing."
He added: "Yet it is the high crime rate, specifically the atrocious murders of innocent citizens, which the government is duty-bound to curb because they disturb national stability and the right of the people to live in peace."
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The civic groups, he said, had the right to hold opinions including those which differed from the government's own. But that right - like all others- should not be abused.
"They do not have the right to misinform, mislead or confuse the public simply to push their different agendas or those of the political groupings they identify with," Mr Sekonyela said
"Their intention is not to fulfil their mandate, namely to promote democracy, accountability and human rights, but is clearly to advance their own agendas and of the political groupings they are conniving with.
"Their statements and the concerns raised by the opposition political parties, have similarities that logically point to the same origins. The tone, the misconceptions, the claims and the mistakes are the same. The statements seek to give information to the public and to express views on issues that the authors have deliberately misquoted and misinterpreted."
