Police minister Bheki Cele last month met with Sarel “Lehlanya” Sello – one of the most wanted men by police in SA for the Soweto tavern shooting – but let him go.
Sello is the leader of Terene ya Khosi Mokata, a Lesotho group whose five members are wanted by SAPS for the murder of 16 people at Mdlalose's tavern in Soweto on July 10. The mass killings happened when a group of armed men, who were targeting another gang member, walked into the tavern and randomly shot at patrons, injuring seven other people.
On Monday, Gauteng police issued a statement saying that a warrant of arrest has been issued for Sello and four members of Terene – Tshepiso Elliot Radebe, Thabang Radikatara, Tshidiso Moleko and Keletso Rabasotho.
Sowetan has now learnt that Terene leadership in Gauteng, which included Sello, met the minister at OR Tambo International Airport weeks after the incident. The group allegedly wanted to meet with Cele to discuss the Mdlalose's tavern massacre and other recent crimes where Basotho nationals and zama zamas were believed to have been the perpetrators on SA soil.
According to Terene secretary Tshepo Moshoeshoe, the group requested the meeting with the minister to properly introduce itself and to also discuss with Cele ways they could assist SAPS tackle illegal mining activities including the Mdlalose's shooting and the gang rapes of eight women in Krugersdorp in July, where zama zamas were said to be involved.
The engagement between Cele and Sello was brief, one of the reasons apparently being that both men could not fully understand each other’s language. Cele had come with his spokesperson Lirandzu Themba. The minister organised for the group to meet with provincial police at the headquarters in Parktown four days later, claimed Moshoeshoe.
“A meeting did take place and it was initiated by the said grouping. The meeting was short and it was concluded that operational people of the SAPS will follow up urgently on the matters raised,” Themba told Sowetan yesterday.
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At the time, Cele had already announced publicly that SAPS had identified the suspects responsible for the Mdlalose's shooting and their movements within SA.
On August 8, four members of the group drove to Parktown to have an audience with senior members of the police in the absence of Sello. He had deployed a delegation to speak with police on his behalf.
But to the surprise of the Terene delegation, the SAPS were not prepared to talk with them but instead wanted to arrest the group for the Mdlalose's case.
“The second meeting did not go as planned. SAPS didn’t want to hear anything from us. The police wanted to arrest us on the spot, saying some of our members are wanted for the Mdlalose's tavern shooting. They showed us a list with 10 names but the individuals on that list were not present in the meeting,” said Moshoeshoe.
The list that police produced included the names of Terene members.
“By the time police wanted to arrest us, eight of the people on the police wanted list were already in Lesotho. Police forced us to drive to the Lesotho border to meet with the wanted men. But when we got to the border our members realised that the SAPS wanted to conduct unlawful arrests. Our members remained in Lesotho and the SAPS came back to SA empty-handed,” said Moshoeshoe.
The four wanted men are said to be harboured in Lesotho where they are enjoying the protection of the ruling party All Basotho Convention.
Lesotho government spokesperson Samuel Rapapa said the mountain kingdom only learnt about the issued wanted list through the media yesterday.
“As Lesotho government we can’t confirm if the wanted suspects are in Lesotho or not. But we are prepared to assist the SAPS in their investigations if these men are really in our country. Lesotho police will investigate this matter. Criminals must be arrested irrespective of their political affiliation,” said Rapapa.
Moshoeshoe said the five suspects should not be linked to the Mdlalose's case as they were not in SA on the night the crime was committed.
He labelled the accusations as a political smear campaign to derail ABC’s campaign for next month’s general elections in that country.
Andy Mashaile, Interpol ambassador in SA, told Sowetan that the suspects have not been placed on Interpol’s red notice, which is a process leading to extradition.
“The Hawks have started talking about it but nothing is on paper yet,” said Mashaile.
According to SA/Lesotho extradition treaty policy, for an extradition process to start, either SA’s justice department should prepare indictments with proof that the suspect committed crime on SA soil before escaping to another country. This information is then either taken to Interpol or the justice department of the state requested for the arrest to be made.
If there is any resistance from the requested country, the extradition process becomes difficult.
“Other than diplomatic leverage there is not much which can be done. Most states respect international laws and requests for extradition on the principle of reciprocity,” said Steve Mahlangu, spokesperson for the department of justice and constitutional development.
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