Be Positive Influences-Army Commander to Lesotho Juveniles

Juveniles rehabilitated by the Lesotho Army have been counseled to shun crime and criminality by embracing exemplary lifestyles.
This counsel was given recently by Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) Commander, Lt-Gen Mojalefa Letsoela at the end of a 3-month rehabilitation exercise for 74 youths at Makoanyane Barracks.
“The three months we spent here with you is enough to rehabilitate you. There is no need for you to walk the same path, we don’t expect you to go back to criminal activities.
“We expect you to go back to your communities and be positive influences,”

“Our primary aim is to ensure that there is peace in this country. This (Makoanyane Barracks) is not a slaughterhouse where people are killed. It is a life-saving institution where people’s lives are turned around and that is why we did what we had to do to save these children.”
Lt-Gen Letsoela called on the political class not to drag the Army into politics saying, ''“My fellow citizens, I am making a clarion call for the nation to stop using the army or the security agencies for their political ends of attacking the government. They should be attacked on the basis of their own actions, not those actions of Lieutenant General Letsoela, his command, or the entire army.
“I am saying this because there were some who plotted to attack the government. They even paid for radio programs to question our actions and that caused a lot of confusion among these children’s (juvenile delinquents’) parents. “This issue nearly made us angry but we managed to calm those who became angry and discouraged when we were assisting these children.”
 
“We ended up in the courts. I personally wanted to go and tell the court that I am guilty but I will continue (with the “rehabilitation”) because it is in the best interests of the nation. However, our lawyers left me behind.
“Our primary aim is to ensure that there is peace in this country. This (Makoanyane Barracks) is not a slaughterhouse where people are killed. It is a life-saving institution where people’s lives are turned around and that is why we did what we had to do to save these children,'' The Army Commander concluded.