Sarele “Lehlanya” Sello, wanted by police in connection with the Soweto tavern shooting, says he will only hand himself over to SA authorities after consulting lawyers — and even then he is not certain he will do so because his hands are clean.
Speaking exclusively to TimesLIVE Premium, Sello maintained his innocence, saying he is being persecuted because of his political prominence in Lesotho.
Sello is the leader of Terene ea Khosi Mokata, a Lesotho Famo gang linked to illegal mining in SA.
On September 5 Gauteng police said a warrant of arrest had been issued for Sello and four members of Terene ea Khosi Mokata — Tshepiso Khowa Radebe, Thabang Radikatara, Tshidiso Moleko and Keletso Rabasotho — for the murder of 16 people at Mdlalose's Tavern on July 10.
The killings happened when a group of armed men, who were allegedly targeting members of Lesotho’s Terene ea Khosi Chakela, stormed the tavern and shot indiscriminately at patrons, injuring seven other people.
The massacre is allegedly linked to a feud between the rival gangs.
The groups, which splintered from each other, have been locked in a cycle of revenge killings across the gold reef in Gauteng, the Free State and the North West for years. At the centre of the bloody feud are scores of lucrative operational mines which have been abandoned. They provide the gangs illegally mining them with millions in gold monthly.
“I can tell you now that all these allegations against us are false. We did not murder those people and we were not involved in any way. We were just as surprised as everyone else when we saw in the news and on social media platforms that authorities in SA had named us as suspects for the murders,” said Sello.
He said he was astonished because he met police minister Bheki Cele on August 16 for a meeting he described as “cordial”. That was three weeks before he was named a suspect.
Lirandzu Themba, Cele’s spokesperson, confirmed to TimesLIVE last month that a brief meeting initiated by Sello and his gang took place between the two parties. Temba said it was concluded that SAPS personnel would follow up urgently on matters raised there.
I would not have met with minister Cele with the knowledge that I was involved in those murders. We just wanted to extend a helping hand
— Sarele 'Lehlanya' Sello
“The meeting went well. It was cordial because we extended a helping hand to the minister and said we would like to assist the authorities because we heard that our group was said to have been behind the massacre. But the meeting was short and we decided we will meet again within 24 to 48 hours,” said Sello.
The subsequent meeting, which Sello did not attend, was held at Gauteng police headquarters in Parktown, Johannesburg, where his members were instructed to reveal the identities behind the massacre.
“I had to leave and go to Lesotho because I had party engagements.
“I would not have met with minister Cele with the knowledge that I was involved in those murders. We just wanted to extend a helping hand,” he said.
Specialised Gauteng detectives traced the alleged killers and narrowly missed arresting them at the Maseru border post on August 18.
TimesLIVE established that Sello and the other suspects allegedly first hid in Vereeniging and Klerksdorp in the North West, before escaping into Lesotho, where they are free.
“We are not hiding,” said Sello.
“We are going to meet our lawyers to chart a way forward. But I don’t know what is going to happen [if we will hand ourselves to SA authorities] because we did not kill those people.
“This is all political. I am part of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) and we are heading into our national elections next month. This is an attempt to drag our party’s name through mud and derail our campaign.”
Through sources in the Lesotho security services, the SAPS and illegal miners, it has been established that the operation to apprehend Sello and his gang members, sanctioned by senior Gauteng police officers, was carried out without the knowledge of Lesotho security forces.
Gauteng police spokesperson Brig Brenda Muridili last month declined to comment on the meeting and operation, saying: “We are not at liberty to discuss information that forms part of an ongoing investigation for fear of jeopardising the investigation.”
Lesotho’s security services were apparently only alerted a day after the failed operation. TimesLIVE Investigations learnt the swoop would have involved suspects being lured from their homes to the border, where they would have been snatched by police with the help of Mokata leaders in SA.
Lesotho Mounted Police (LMP) commissioner Holomo Molibeli said they were in the dark about what happened: “The LMP definitely did not receive official requests for assistance in tracking the suspects. We were unaware the police were here for them. If we were made aware, we could have helped.”
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