JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — When 16 people were shot dead at a South
African tavern, few thought the investigation would lead to the kingdom of
Lesotho, where a war between rival music gangs has claimed scores of lives.
اضافة اعلان
South African
police launched a manhunt this week for five suspects over the July 10
shooting, which saw assailants with high-caliber weapons descend on a Soweto
bar and open fire on patrons seemingly at random.
More than 100
cartridges were found at the scene of a crime that shocked the nation.
Police
identified one of the main suspects as Sarel Lehlanya Sello, a Lesotho man
described as a “well-known” figure to law enforcement agencies in the
Johannesburg area.
Sello is
reported to be a leader of “Terene”, a Lesotho gang rooted in “famo” music, a
local form of hip-hop that has been tied to a wave of violence.
In images
released by authorities, Sello can be seen sporting a beanie emblazoned with
the word “Terene”, which means “train” in the Sotho language, a reference to
the great migrations of workers to South African mines in the 1970s.
A traditional
yellow and black shepherd’s blanket — the gang’s colors — is wrapped around his
shoulders.
More than 15
percent of mountainous Lesotho’s 2.2 million people live in South Africa.
The country is
landlocked within its larger neighbor and economically dependent on it.
Detectives are
tight-lipped on what could have triggered the shooting and have urged those
with information to come forward.
Meanwhile the
suspects, wanted on 16 counts of murder and seven of attempted murder, are
thought to be on the run “in a neighboring country”, according to authorities.
In Maseru,
Lesotho’s capital, it is difficult to loosen tongues on a gang war that several
local sources say has killed about 100 people over the past 15 years.
The “famo” music
scene has become almost clandestine, with shows now taking place under heavy
police presence.
‘Endless revenge’
“It went out of control”, famo singer Morena Leraba, told AFP about
deadly rivalries, comparing the violence to the gang wars that marked the
history of American rap in the 1990s.
The famo hails
from the chants that black Lesotho laborers sang on the long journey to South
Africa’s diamond and gold mines about a century ago.
“Today, we would
call it rap,” said Rataibane Ramainoane, the founder of local radio station
MoAfrika FM.
Early famo
performers would sing of the tiring voyage to South Africa, the lonely evenings
in the “shebeens” — clandestine bars during apartheid — and the harshness of
everyday life.
Musical
instruments were gradually introduced, with the accordion emerging as the
emblem of a genre now considered as “the soul of the country”.
“Famo is part of
everyday (life). You hear it everywhere on the streets, in the taxi ranks,”
said Leraba.
As the music’s
popularity grew, white South African producers started to market records and by
the end of apartheid, some artists were enjoying success selling thousands of
copies.
With time,
lyrics became more confrontational, as singers threw jabs at each other.
What started as
a war of words, evolved into street violence.
“Some were
jealous of those who sold better than them and literally started eliminating
them,” said Ramainoane.
Radio stations
accused of favoring one group or another with more airtime, began receiving
threats.
“It’s God’s
miracle that I’m still alive,” said Ramainoane.
After a spate of
killings last year, Lesotho’s police minister tried to ban the wearing of
traditional blankets associated with the gangs — some of which are suspected of
being involved in illegal gold mining in South Africa.
Yet, despite a
bad reputation some gangs enjoy cozy relationships with the political world.
Nkaku Kabi, the
head of Lesotho’s leading All Basotho Convention party, recently congratulated
Terene members for recruiting many supporters, ahead of general elections next
month.
Speaking from
Europe where he is on tour, singer Leraba said he now spends little time back
home, wanting to distance himself from a cycle of “endless revenge”.
“Little brothers
would join ... the movement and sing and kill,” he said.
Read more Music
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
