Tables have turned on retired soldier, Colonel Thato Phaila, who has gone from being a Crown witness in high-profile cases against his former boss, Tlali Kamoli, to now facing charges alongside him.
Phaila, 67, appeared before the Maseru Magistrates' Court this week, to be charged with treason and the murder of police Sub-Inspector Mokheseng Ramahloko. He was remanded in custody at the Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) by Senior Resident Magistrate Thamae Thamae.
According to the charge sheet read in court, Phaila was among those who orchestrated the failed coup that led to Sub-Insp Ramahloko's murder in August 2014.
"Between the 29th and 30th of August 2014, near Police Headquarters in the district of Maseru, the accused unlawfully and intentionally conspired with others in case CR/T/0001/18, a matter already before the High Court. Acting against the Kingdom of Lesotho and as a citizen of Lesotho, the accused sought to overthrow or coerce the government by attacking the State House with the intention of taking the Prime Minister to His Majesty to dissolve the government. The accused also attacked police stations and shut down local radio stations, contravening the said act," part of the charge sheet reads.
"The accused unlawfully and intentionally conspired with those in case CR/T/0001/18, R v Kennedy Tlali Kamoli and others, performing unlawful acts with the intent to cause the death of Sub-Insp Mokheseng Ramahloko."
Magistrate Thamae asked Phaila if he understood the charges, to which he responded in the affirmative. He was also informed of his right to apply for bail before the High Court, as murder cases fall under its jurisdiction. He is set to reappear before the same court on 12 March 2025.
From witness to accused
Phaila was previously an accomplice witness in high-profile cases currently before the High Court. He testified in the trial of former army commander Tlali Kamoli and eight others accused of murdering former army commander Maaparankoe Mahao. His testimony, given from 5 to 8 July 2021, initially supported the Crown's case.
Phaila told the court that when he was still the Lesotho Defence Force Director of Logistics in 2015, then-acting army commander, the late Lt-Gen Khoantle Motšomotšo, had informed him of an alleged mutiny being planned by soldiers and civilians, including Lt-Gen Mahao. He said Lt-Gen Motšomotšo had ordered an operation to stop the mutiny.
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Among those he initially named as mutineers were then-Gender, Sports, Youth, and Recreation Minister Thesele Maseribane and then-Police Commissioner Khothatso Tšooana. Phaila also defended Kamoli, stating that he had not participated in Lt-Gen Mahao's murder.
However, things took a drastic turn while he was still testifying. During re-examination, then-prosecutor Advocate Shaun Abrahams asked Phaila whether he had boarded Lt-Gen Kamoli's wife's vehicle from court, got lunch from her and slept at the Kamoli residence in Ha Leqele.
Phaila denied these allegations, confirming only that he had boarded Ms Kamoli's vehicle to evade soldiers whom he claimed had been surveying him since he began testifying.
He then shocked the court by stating that his witness statements had been fabricated and that he had been forced to lie in them. This revelation came just before he was due for re-examination by Adv Abrahams. Phaila accused the prosecutor of twisting his evidence to serve the Crown's interest in securing Kamoli's conviction.
Following this, Kamoli and his co-accused applied for Adv Abrahams' recusal from the case, but Justice Charles Hungwe dismissed their request.
Phaila's arrest follows that of Colonel Tumo Lekhooa, who had been in exile since 2017 when Kamoli and others were arrested. Lekhooa was charged last Thursday and remains in LCS custody.
