Community, Police Officers and the Lesotho Justice System

Part 3- The Lesotho Justice System

As of November 2013 I no longer reside in Lesotho.  I have relocated to Pietermaritzburg South Africa.  The Lesotho justice system was plugging along slowly and we had almost reached another potential court date (only a year after the break-in).  However, now that I have left I have not heard of any further progress.  Sadly the general feeling is that the court systems are not very effective and do not bring very much justice to the land.  For my community in Maphutseng this feeling has been exasperated by the fact that there are now “regular” break-ins to the offices.  This started in September and it has continued up until now.  This has never been a problem before so it is disconcerting to have so much theft and disrespect for our project now.  On top of these problems there continues to be less rain then expected at this time of year after a winter of drought.  There was rain at the end of the year so people were able to plant, but now things are drying out again.  Crops, animals,  and eventually people will all be affected by a lack of rain.  

 I’m sorry to paint such a bleak picture of Maphutseng right now, especially if you have never been there to see all the beautiful parts yourself.  If you were there you would see maize plants that were growing as tall as you.  You would greet people every day that would be happy to laugh and joke with you.  You would enjoy beautiful summer sunsets with purple mountains.  So here you have the two sides of the place that I miss.  The hardship along side the beauty.  I encourage you to live in the tensions that this world presents us.  And if your thoughts turn toward Maphutseng after this they will appreciate all the prayers you give for them.