Lesotho’s Intractable Politics
Jul 7, 2015
South African Business Day Live Editorial
Deputy Pesident Cyril Ramaphosa is back in Lesotho with the thankless task of attempting to reconcile the irreconcilable
"THEY will kill me because they have no case against me," former Lesotho army chief Lt-Gen Maaparankoe Mahao is said to have told his brother, Qamako, days before he was shot dead by soldiers near his home.
Lt-Gen Mahao had been accused by the new Lesotho government of plotting a military coup, and the official line is that he resisted and drew his firearm when soldiers were sent to arrest him.
But in August he survived what appeared to be an assassination attempt when soldiers sprayed his house with bullets, and it is an open secret that he was a bitter rival of present commander of the Lesotho Defence Force, Gen Tlali Kamoli.
Gen Kamoli is a highly controversial figure. The latest bout of political turmoil in Lesotho started last year when he was fired by the then prime minister, Tom Thabane, and Lt-Gen Mahao was appointed in his place.
Gen Kamoli responded by attempting to overthrow the government, causing Mr Thabane and Lt-Gen Mahao to flee to SA, and it took direct intervention by SA and some intense diplomacy by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to restore democratic order.
The political settlement brokered by Mr Ramaphosa resulted in an early election that was won by current Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili — who promptly reappointed Gen Kamoli as head of the defence force, breaking an agreement that he would be ineligible for the post because of his involvement in last year’s uprising.
Now Mr Ramaphosa is back in Lesotho with the thankless task of attempting to reconcile the irreconcilable. There was little prospect of restoring trust before Lt-Gen Mahao’s death; now it is inconceivable that a settlement will be reached without justice first being served.
The decision by Southern African Development Community leaders to establish an independent commission of inquiry headed by a judge from Botswana is significant because the leaders appear to accept that the situation is too far gone to be resolved by the Basotho themselves.
That Mr Mosisili has gone along with it indicates that he either agrees or has not been given any other choice.
South African Business Day Live Editorial
Deputy Pesident Cyril Ramaphosa is back in Lesotho with the thankless task of attempting to reconcile the irreconcilable
"THEY will kill me because they have no case against me," former Lesotho army chief Lt-Gen Maaparankoe Mahao is said to have told his brother, Qamako, days before he was shot dead by soldiers near his home.
Lt-Gen Mahao had been accused by the new Lesotho government of plotting a military coup, and the official line is that he resisted and drew his firearm when soldiers were sent to arrest him.
But in August he survived what appeared to be an assassination attempt when soldiers sprayed his house with bullets, and it is an open secret that he was a bitter rival of present commander of the Lesotho Defence Force, Gen Tlali Kamoli.
Gen Kamoli is a highly controversial figure. The latest bout of political turmoil in Lesotho started last year when he was fired by the then prime minister, Tom Thabane, and Lt-Gen Mahao was appointed in his place.
Gen Kamoli responded by attempting to overthrow the government, causing Mr Thabane and Lt-Gen Mahao to flee to SA, and it took direct intervention by SA and some intense diplomacy by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to restore democratic order.
The political settlement brokered by Mr Ramaphosa resulted in an early election that was won by current Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili — who promptly reappointed Gen Kamoli as head of the defence force, breaking an agreement that he would be ineligible for the post because of his involvement in last year’s uprising.
Now Mr Ramaphosa is back in Lesotho with the thankless task of attempting to reconcile the irreconcilable. There was little prospect of restoring trust before Lt-Gen Mahao’s death; now it is inconceivable that a settlement will be reached without justice first being served.
The decision by Southern African Development Community leaders to establish an independent commission of inquiry headed by a judge from Botswana is significant because the leaders appear to accept that the situation is too far gone to be resolved by the Basotho themselves.
That Mr Mosisili has gone along with it indicates that he either agrees or has not been given any other choice.
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