Suspicion that elements within the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) are working hand-in-glove with criminals has once again exploded into public view -- this time in the High Court, where such rot has no place to hide.
This past week, High Court Judge Tseliso Mokoko was visibly enraged after three crucial exhibit firearms, used in the murder trial of radio personality Ralikonelo "Leqhashasha" Joki and two others, mysteriously vanished from police custody. When summoned to account, officers gave the judge the usual LMPS circus: finger-pointing, evasive answers, and a coordinated effort to dodge responsibility.
Among those tasked with explaining this catastrophe is none other than Kubutu Kubutu, an officer whose incompetence has been repeatedly highlighted in these pages. Kubutu's name has become synonymous with bungled investigations and shoddy police work. His continued presence in cases of national significance is a question the Commissioner must answer -- urgently. A man who fumbles even routine tasks cannot be trusted with evidence in a triple-murder case.
Judge Mokoko's suspicion is not only justified -- it is unavoidable. The disappearance of these firearms reeks not of negligence, but of collusion. Illicit cooperation between rogue officers and criminal networks is no longer speculation; it is a pattern.
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We have seen this movie before.
In 2021, 75 guns were stolen from the Mafeteng Police Station armoury and sold to Famo gangs terrorising communities in Lesotho and illegal mining hubs in South Africa. Three LMPS officers confessed to stealing the weapons and selling some of them for up to M50 000.
Earlier this year, four more officers were dragged to court for allegedly running a corrupt firearms licensing racket that handed deadly weapons to criminals in exchange for bribes -- M10 000 per licence, plus a M150 000 "thank-you" lump sum.
Now, five officers cannot explain how three exhibit pistols -- central to a high-profile murder trial -- simply evaporated under their watch.
This is not incompetence.
This is criminality wearing a police uniform.
Judge Mokoko was right to order Police Commissioner Advocate Borotho Matsoso -- and the five officers involved -- to appear before the High Court on 9 February 2026. This directive is long overdue. For too long, the LMPS has been allowed to investigate everything except itself, despite strong evidence that the institution has been infiltrated by miscreants masquerading as officers of the law.
The judge's warning was chilling and absolutely correct:
"These guns maybe out there in the hands of criminals, and innocent lives will be lost because of your recklessness."
These firearms are now almost certainly circulating within the underworld -- feeding the very violence the LMPS claims to be fighting. Lesotho remains plagued by armed robberies, gender-based attacks, stock theft, and cold-blooded killings -- crimes overwhelmingly committed using illicit weapons.
Every missing gun is a potential murder.
Every missing gun is a life that may soon be lost.
This scandal is not merely a procedural lapse. It is an indictment of an institution in decay. The LMPS's chronic failures in handling evidence jeopardise prosecutions, embolden criminals, and undermine public confidence in the justice system.
Judge Mokoko deserves praise for refusing to tolerate this nonsense. His insistence that those responsible be brought before court -- including the Commissioner -- is the kind of judicial backbone Lesotho desperately needs.
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But the LMPS cannot afford continued embarrassment at the hands of officers like Kubutu Kubutu, whose professional shortcomings repeatedly place justice at risk. If the Commissioner seeks to restore even a shred of credibility, he must remove such incompetents from positions where they can cause further harm, if he has not already done so.
Furthermore he must ensure that these bogus police officers face the consequences of their actions.
Lesotho cannot continue losing lives simply because the police cannot keep track of their own guns.
The Kingdom now ranks among the top six most homicidal nations in the world, surpassing even strife torn failed states like Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among others.
No wonder investors are staying away.
