The Accordion Wars: Famo music and gang violence in Lesotho | People and Power

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Al Jazeera English

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The Accordion Wars: Famo music and gang violence in Lesotho | People and Power


Fierce rivalry between followers of a unique, accordion-based, musical tradition known as Famo has fuelled years of deadly gang warfare in the tiny African kingdom of Lesotho.

Financed by organised crime and gold salvaged from the area’s disused – but still productive – apartheid-era mines, the murderous feuds have now spilled over into…

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@jamanyana

We want our land and mines back, period.

@zephaniah7387

What Lance Seargent Tlotliso does not mention is that, police officers are also part of the gangs.

@mratrisiolanga

lesotho drill music make chicago and uk drill sound like soul music

@kamohelosdi4725

The war is back al jazeera investigate

@davidsuping

The mines are abandoned so South Africa is not losing anything…

@davidmodupi6275

Bana ba nkgono Kgodu melami fatshe bo, hare kopaneng re ikahe Basotho!

@mantuli_ka1

Tell the white dude, we are Basotho not Basothos

@KatlehoMotake

Toro eaka ke ho etsa a microscopic documentary into this whole matter.

Sadly most artists have passed on to give insight but their music does leave a trail.

@TumeloMolikoe-ze9nw

God Save Lesotho..🪗

@EricDiller-on1hk

Bigups to Al Jazeera i have always known that this is a multi-million dollar industry hence its incessant growth and authorities are constantly failing to arrest the scourge of this potentially massive looting of the country's natural resourses!

@gatecreed8384

what annoys me is why is it illegal for common citizens to mine and you begin putting numbers to it saying the country looses money , how about the elites who steal tax intentionally ? its good when the elit do it but when regular citizens do it you gun them down with heavy guns and huge budgets .

@ivainyamutsamba8540

If the descendants of Moshoeshoe believe that their historical ancestral lands stretch into Bloemfontein infact whole of it why must we deny them of their basic human right to achieve self-determination like any other state and if there is a trace of Sotho heritage and there is a country named Lesotho, a victim of the Berlin Conference and invasion of ancient illegal immigrants that were running away from the Cape due to British exceptionalism by all means necessary in Pan-African solidarity of rewriting the ends, biases, and distortions of history may Lesotho become a sovereign state and may SADC and AU facilitate so. These gang violences are not going to end until the salient yearnings of BaSotho have been fulfilled and that is redressing the sins of Cecil John Rhodes,Van Riebeck,Smuts, et al.
The same notion Cde Darya Dugina was murdered for in her article that conversed about the third wave of African DeColonisation. With that as well may Beira, Maputo be returned to the Mutapa state.

@thokozanimbambo50

Why can't these illegal immigrants go kill each other in their own land. The RSA government is beyond useless, why aren't these undesirable illegal thugs not shipped back to their country? How is their presence in our land building our nation?

@zengoreseb1352

Al Jazeera please we need you guys in NAMIBIA🇳🇦.. something big is going on this country … Corruption is everywhere

@kingkunte5479

We need a new government to get rid of these illegal scum

@bokangntsonyane9954

For anyone who wants to understand this phenomenon on a micro level I implore you to read the book: Wayferers' Hymns by Zakes Mda

@mrfats6200

Western world 🌎 propaganda

@simeon2851

Its like gangster rap rivalry. But for accordions.

@tumellomotabola6268

Until Lions learn how to write ( or make half hearted Aljazeera mini-documentaries) the story will always glorify the hunter.

@thato596

A beautiful nation of Lesotho messed up jealousy and lack of knowledge. Instead of embracing famo they want to hate on each other. Instead of building a nation they want to fight each other. Sechaba sentle tjena ao bathong

@peleqetelo8734

What a missed opportunity for this documentary and the investigative journalist. Half truths and total concealments. 3 or more dynamics that play part in all of these with South African politicians taking advantage of this to enrich themselves by fronting the desperate souls. The documentary and the investigative journalist either deliberately don't want to highlight facts or are uninformed.

@zubenathimzini4565

The author has no clue of exactly what he was writing about………the Fight is between The group called AmaRussia n……………………….

@MsCabral13

Everything about that man from the private security company and his company itself made me uncomfortable.

@nhumatimba8000

It's the land of the Basotho people, let them mine it legally or illegally if they have to.

@mck5549

The lines are blurred between famo and zama-zama and the blanket view that all miners are criminals – by the white police officers is reminiscent of the apartheid era… whilst the documentary sheds clues, its still premature and rudimentary, lacking details on connections… the documentary is released without enough details on the matter – futher investigations are needed to form conclusive evidence

@joncampling8977

Stupid little country full of useless criminal blacks.

@Onelove-Oneheart-h4c

Failed kingdom within a failing state

@bongani9972

This is what South Africa have to deal with

@ntateMarete

So Lesotho and Basotho men made South Africa rich and therefore the rest of the world.
Maybe it's time for south africa to say Thank you Lesotho.

@orokonaboba7157

Wow sad 😢 and me want to go visit SA but I don't want to travel somewhere where I'm scared for my life and to explore the area as a tourist.

@Dzhambila

Met a girl from Lesotho just recently. I will no longer be pursuing her after watching this.

@mandlenkosishandu

wow this is so crazy, that it had to picked up by Al Jazeera, while our own media houses did nothing

@moekoathahane7866

Please research things properly. Lots of unfortunate misinformation here.

@Mrcrip457

How cone our news outlets in SA never reported this😮

@samikadar

White man with a gun in 🇿🇦. Kunzima kunzima.

@lucianogardelli10

in south africa we know them as the amarussians.

@moyahabothoka8634

If this man indeed is afraid for the lives of their families, why would you show his sister, her face, her name and the house? Nonsense.

@tonymudau3005

I just want to add that those mines are ours in anyway. We are not losing a cent. Let the people EAT! AFRICAUNIT!

@refigee8752

This was quite brilliant

@mohamed6401

Am sure many South Africans miss the white rule. Safety or even simple electricity supply.

@hopes9451

Its about time the Lesotho government did something to get to the bottom of this famo violence; and dealt with it without fear or favour. It's been going on for far too long.

@GuyMpofu

These guys don't care who they expose. Some of these cops will have it tough with these videos out. Kurough.

@mosalethoba5267

Nah the gangs didn't start when Chakela won the award. Ot comes from way back its a gang culture that started when Basotho had to form alliance to protect themselves in the early years in the mines. Apparently they had a lot of feuds with Mapoto( Amampondo) so they formed an alliance called MaRussia(The Russians) which later collapsed and resulted in rival gangs due to their own internal squabbles .

All that GOLD belongs to the people of the land Sayed The LORD their GOD.

@emarkjacobs

wow aljazeera goes deep. Well done

@vumzav48

Lesotho must be annexed by South Africa. So that people of Lesotho can have basic human rights.

@ignatiuszulu6285

In Zambia we have Jerabos similar operating principles with Zama Zama it would be nice for Aljazeera to do a documentary on them.

@ThusoGoesFit

I think on the next one you should get Seakhi’s leader to clarify more about how all this began since Chakela is no more to answer questions

@heavyhookedup

What a sad situation. Props to Al Jazeera.

@bonganiradebe1331

Thank you for this beautiful video.