Pastor Wilson came to pick me up at the Lesotho Sun hotel and we drove down the hill to the new court complex. As we parked, we had to stay in our car for a bit while some inmates were transported from a large armored cargo van through the parking lot into one of the buildings. These men were emaciated, stooped down low, stumbling and weak as if they had not seen the light of day nor been able to walk around for awhile. I’m not sure what they were imprisoned for, but evidently they were deemed to be very dangerous as at least a dozen green clad soldiers surrounded the van with machine guns. An official in a business suit kept glancing our way seeming concerned about our presence there as one of the soldiers stood right in front of my car door.

When the inmate transfer was finally made we left the safety of our car into the beautiful, clear, sunny, Lesotho daylight for our day in court. We went to same waiting room for where the remanding had been held the day before, and of course our new ‘friends’, the three defendants, were in theSAMEwaiting room again. Awkward!!!

Everyone was more dressed up today including myself. I had been told that this court was more like a preliminary local tribal court at which the custom was for women to wear long dresses below their knees, long sleeves and a head covering. Well, I achieved all but the head covering—all I had was a baseball cap and that wouldn’t exactly go with what Teresa and I call my “King Dress”. I have this ugly black and gray sleeveless, below-the-knee, dress that I bought on sale at the Nordstrom Rack which I pair with a black cotton sweater and black pumps that I always bring to Lesotho for just such occasions. (You never know when one might have the opportunity to meet the King or testify at a trial!) The attacker was wearing pants and a jacket and the 2 ladies were wearing the traditional Seshoeshoe dresses with matching head coverings knotted in the back in the traditional manner.

We were ushered into the courtroom and this procedure was by far the most professional of all my experiences with the Lesotho police and court system. The judge, (a woman with a soft monotone voice), acknowledged Wilson as my interpreter and paused after every sentence so that everyone could hear Wilson interpreting in English out loud. The trial was conducted with proper protocol ‘by the book’ in every way starting with the pleading, the prosecutor’s response where our statements were read, the verdict and the sentencing. There was no court reporter and the judge hand wrote every single sentence that was said, so the whole thing moved along at a snail’s pace. All three defendants plead guilty to fighting and were found guilty. They all 3 asked for leniency in their sentencing: the man because he had never committed a crime like this before and because he was regretful that he had behaved in a way that someone his age (around 65) should not behave, and that he would never, ever do this again; one of the women, as she addressed the judge, said that she hoped M’e Jennifer would forgive her and that she was very sorry for what she had done. The other woman said she wanted to apologize to Pastor David and M’e Jennifer and ask them to forgive her. They sounded really sincere. Any of you that know me know that I have a very soft heart for people and have a tendency to believe the best in people and so can be vulnerable to manipulation. So even though standing in front of me were the people whom the day before had tried to terrorize us with a knife and tried to beat down the door, part of me had great compassion for them.

The judge sentenced them to pay a fine of 300 rand each (about $43) for fighting or serve 1 month in jail. I have not heard what they decided, but I suspect they learned a lesson that will hopefully last the rest of their lives.

Looking back on this experience, I can see how God can use this for my good and for the good of Beautiful Dream, and for the good of CRC:

I was able to experience first hand the entire Lesotho justice system from start to finish—witnessing everything from the actual crime to the sentencing and how the procedure and culture works. What an invaluable experience!! I will be able to help the team navigate through the prosecutions of some of the traffickers.
I began to develop relationships with some of the police. They will not forget me, but will remember me next time I come.

The fight for CRC’s Church’s property has had a ‘win’ because of this court case. May God continue to prevail in their situation.

God isSOOOOOOGoood!