LNAPD denounces girl’s murder

BOKANG MAKHOA      

MASERU – The Lesotho National Association of People with Disabilities (LNAPD) has condemned the February 12 murder of a 5-year-old disabled girl by her mother.

The gruesome killing, Lesotho Mounted Police Service public relations office said at the time, happened in Thabaneng in the Mafeteng district.

LNAPD said in a statement this week that it is time government expedited the enactment of legislation, the Disability Equity Bill, to protect people with disabilities.

“We appeal to the Basotho nation to respect the rights of people living with disabilities and consider them as fellow human beings, doing away with tendencies that take advantage of their state,” LNAPD said in the statement. “It is high time that these abuses come to a stop,” it continued.

In a brief interview with Public Eye LNAPD publicity officer, Ernestina Ramathinyane said the Mafeteng murder of the 5-years-old girl was a tip of the iceberg – indicating more disabled persons daily bore the brunt of abuse from members of the communities in which they lived.

“The law protects all of us as human beings and citizens of this country, but we plead with government to ensure that disabled people are given more protection…the way we are treated and killed is just unbearable,” she said.

LNAPD is a national organisation that seeks to protect and enhance the welfare of people with musculo-skeletal disabilities.