THE All Basotho Convention (ABC) says it firmly stands by the violent famo gangs outlawed by the government. The ABC’s deputy secretary-general, Tšolo Khechane, told thepost on Tuesday that it (government) is misdirecting itself by banning the 12 famo gangs. Khechane said the government is “deliberately losing focus on real crimes worthy of acting on”.
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“The government should leave famo singers and associations alone and focus on real criminals out there who are taking cover under the music,” Khechane said.
“With their security intelligence, they know exactly where they should look, but they deliberately look for criminals in the wrong places.”
“It is not a secret that the ABC has a strong relationship with famo organisations and we are on record fighting crimes, even those committed under the cloak of famo.”
Khechane said the government is fully aware that crimes are planned and committed in South Africa.
“They (crimes) then spill into Lesotho, and perpetrators flee back to their base in South Africa.”
The criminals, he said, are illegal gold miners fighting over control of disused shafts in South Africa “where they are actually working for big people”.
Khechane said declaring these organisations illegal in Lesotho and not in South Africa means the “government is deliberately avoiding confronting the real criminals on their turfs.”
He said the ABC’s relationship with the gangs has taught them that there are prominent people both in Lesotho and South Africa behind the illegal gold mining and control of the miners.
He said until Lesotho closely works with South Africa to fight famo-related crimes, measures such as banning the gangs or declaring a state of emergency will not solve the crisis.
The parliament is discussing a motion to declare a state of emergency as part of the reaction to the violent crimes committed by the famo gangs.
“There are very rich people in both countries who are actually in control here,” he said, adding that “the government deliberately does not look at them but focuses on famo groups”.
He said famo organisations should be allowed to officially register to have physical addresses and identifiable leaders who can be held accountable for their actions.
“It will be easy for the police to study the databases of their members and see if there are criminals among them,” he said.
“If found, they will be dealt with accordingly.”
The ABC has maintained strong relations with the famo gangs since its formation in 2006.
The Terene gang has consistently donated to ABC’s activities. Its leaders have been allowed to address the ABC rallies. It also had a representative on the party’s executive committee.
This was as per the party’s constitution which embraced famo gangs and taxi associations.
Khechane said the constitution was amended in January last year to state that representatives of taxi operators and famo gangs in the ABC’s executive committee should be elected by registered associations.
He said this means that only those who have been elected by their associations will be allowed to speak at ABC events and to be part of the national executive committee.
“This does not mean we have turned our backs on the famo groups. We are still with them; it’s just that their representative should be elected,” Khechane said.
Caswell Tlali
