Inquest into the death of the Principal Chief of Phamong continues 

The inquest into the death of the Principal Chief of Phamong, Bereng Letsie Bereng, who was allegedly shot and killed by members of the Lesotho Mounted Police Services on the night of March 10, 2002, continued in the Maseru Magistrate Court on January 22.

Giving evidence, a retired South African Police Colonel, Mr. Jacobus Daniel Du Plessis, a ballistic expert,  said Chief Bereng could have been shot with 10 bullets, from automatic AK 47 rifles. His conclusion derives from the10 bullet wounds that the deceased sustained during the shooting incident. The deceased
must have been shot when he was running away on foot.

Mr. Du Plessis cited a wound that the deceased sustained on the right hip which had immobilized him, as one of those that gave the impression that he was shot while he was attempting to run away. The deceased is reported to have run towards the Lesotho Distance Teaching Centre (LDTC), next to the Lesotho College of Education (LCE), 35 meters away from his opponents.

It is here that the deceased was found dead, with a pistol next to his right hand, and a piece of his right index finger seemingly shot off.

" The deceased's finger might have been amputated by the impact of a bullet shot from firearms of the police, that had also damaged the muzzle of the pistol, " he said.

The witness said he assisted a South African doctor,  a Professor Botha, to conduct an autopsy on the body of the deceased, at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Maseru, in 2002.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr. Molefi Makara heads the inquest with Ms. Pingla Hemraj as prosecutor. Advocates Zwelakhe Mda and Hae Phoofolo are representing the family.

23 January 2004