Magistrate suspended over bail scandal

Maseru Senior Magistrate Peter Murenzi has apparently been suspended for allegedly granting dubious bail to suspects and getting them illegally released from remand prison. His apparent suspension follows recent revelations that he allegedly connived with prison warders to illegally release five suspects from Lesotho Correctional Facility in two separate cases. High Court and Court of Appeal Registrar Advocate Mathato Sekoai refused to confirm the suspension. The Post reports, however, that Chief Justice Peter Sakoane has since instructed Sekoai to investigate Murenzi and other possible cases of dubious bail. Murenzi allegedly fraudulently granted bail to three suspects who were remanded in custody for impersonating soldiers in Marakabei in November last year. The three – Retšelisitsoe Mpeke, Molahlehi Mpeke and Lebajoa Mpeke – had been initially denied bail by Magistrate Lerato Ntelane and were supposed to appeal in the High Court. But Murenzi is alleged to have ignored Ntelane’s ruling and granted them bail under dubious circumstances in November. They then attended their remand in December and the alleged fraud could have gone undetected had they not appeared before Ntelane again for their January remand.

Ntelane remembered that she had denied them bail and queried how they had been released. The prosecution said it had no idea how they had been released. The suspects said they had been released on bail in November and had receipts. They, however, admitted that they never appeared before any magistrate before getting bail. They all said they didn’t know the lawyer who filed their bail application. Ntelane then immediately ordered their re-arrest, according to The Post. In the second case, Murenzi allegedly connived with a prison warder to release two suspects charged with conspiracy to murder state witnesses in the murder of radio journalist Ralikonelo ‘Leqhashasha’ Joki. The suspects – Hei Nketsi and Moeketsi Rantheba – had been in remand prison since their arrest last July. But they were released by a prison warder on the alleged instruction of Murenzi. The police subsequently arrested the suspects again. Both told Magistrate Itumeleng Letsika in their separate court appearances that they were in their cells, when a prison warder they did not know told them they were free to go home. Murenzi confirmed that he had released the five in two different cases but denied that it was illegal. He said he was the magistrate on call and ‘I had the authority to hear their cases and used my discretion to release them’.

Full report in The Post