Colonel Lekate Lesitsi of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF)  says he and his colleagues were assigned  to perform a hastily  inspection duty at the late Selometsi Baholo's residence at Ha Abia on April 14, 1994 and they found an unpleasant    sight of the scene . Colonel  Lesitsi, said this during a cross-examination by defence counsel Advocate Ts'upane Maieane at  the High Court of Lesotho  at an ongoing case in which 23 LDF members are being charged with the murder of the late Baholo.

The army officer pointed out that; they had been assigned by LDF commander to inspect the deceased's residence, when they found him lying on a kitchen floor, with a gaping wound above an eye.  He said, he could not remember whether the location of the wound was above a right eye or a left one, as it happened a long time ago.

Colonel Lesitsi indicated that, the wound was visible from a distance, and that from his observation, a General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG)  was used, which   is more powerful than R 4s, or Galilees that soldiers at the scene were carrying GPMG is of a 7.62 millimeter calibre. He pointed out that; the person who shot at the deceased could have been at a distance of about 100 or 200 metres away from him, adding that an effective range of the GPMG is a thousand metres." A bullet of GPMG is so powerful that it can penetrate a cement brick or a steel window frame, and its calibre is 7.62 millimetres, " he disclosed.

The witness elaborated that, on their arrival at the scene at 11 0'clock in the morning of that day in question, they found  a GPMG mounted just outside the deceased's yard.

Twenty- three LDF soldiers are accused of having allegedly murdered the late and former Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Selometsi Baholo, at Ha Abia on April 14, 1994.The case that is before Justice Semapo Peete is continuing.  The prosecutor is Mr. Roland Suhr, while defence counsels include Advocates Ts'upane Maieane, Thabo Nteso, and Molefi Ntlhoki.

26 February, 2003