PRIME Minister Thomas Thabane says he is not keen to re-open Parliament on 19 September 2014, as he had initially agreed during a Southern African Development Community (SADC) brokered meeting held in South Africa last week. The premier is citing security concerns for his decision to renege on the promise, but his coalition government partner, Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Mothetjoa Metsing, is having none of it.
In an effort to break the impasse, president Jacob Zuma of South Africa — in his capacity as the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation — was in Lesotho this week and met with All Basotho Convention (ABC) leader Dr Thabane, Mr Metsing and Basotho National Party (BNP) leader Thesele ‘Maseribane, whose parties formed a coalition government in June 2012.
In this interview with the Lesotho Times (LT) reporter Lekhetho Ntsukunyane, ABC spokesperson, Tefo Mapesela, details why Dr Thabane will not re-open Parliament unless the issue of national security is resolved.
LT: What exactly are these security issues that Dr Thabane insists should be addressed before he re-opens Parliament?
Mapesela: Towards the end of last month, Ntate Thabane went to South Africa to seek the intervention of the foreign community following the tragic events of 30 August, when the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) attacked members of the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) at three police stations in Maseru. That fateful morning, the army stormed Maseru Central, Police Headquarters and Ha-Mabote Police Station and seized police firearms, vehicles and other items. The soldiers assaulted police officers on duty and even killed one of them. They shut down radio stations and around 3:30am, went to the State House looking for Ntate Thabane. The soldiers went on to attack the home of the newly-appointed LDF commander, Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Maaparankoe Mahao. All this, they did under the leadership of the then commander, Lt. Gen Tlali Kamoli. Ntate Kamoli surely did this to resist his dismissal and replacement by Ntate Mahao. Following that, we are told Ntate Kamoli seized the army’s weapons and relocated elsewhere. He is surely refusing to let go of the army reins while he is also being used by some politicians.
LT: But how does this affect the re-opening of the Parliament?
Mapesela: Currently, there is a stalemate over who is the army commander following Lt Gen Kamoli’s resistance. Without him surrendering and handing over powers to Lt Gen Mahao, the latter is unable to assume office as he should. You must have noticed that when President Jacob Zuma arrived in the country on Tuesday this week, none of them, (Lt Gen Kamoli and Lt Gen Mahao), was around. This shows how serious the issue of security is. You should be aware that if Parliament is to re-open, the King will have to lead the process and make a speech from the throne. The army, again, has to be there. If the situation remains as it is, who, between Lt Gen Mahao and Lt gen Kamoli, will salute the King? And if, again, the standoff between the police and the army is unresolved, how do we ensure the protection of Members of Parliament (MPs), some of whom we know had left the country after it emerged they were targeted by the army? There is no sense at all in all this.
LT: But the prime minister is being accused by the LCD and the DC of being behind the political unrest currently prevailing in Lesotho. The leadership of the two parties allege that Dr Thabane appointed Lt Gen Mahao the new LDF commander illegally to divert attention from the issue of the re-opening Parliament. They also say he did this to attract the attention of SADC and the international community at large, and also so that he could avoid the motion of no-confidence he faces from the opposition. What is your take on this?
Mapesela: That is a blatant lie passed around by certain members of the LCD, in collaboration with their DC friends. They are simply uttering this propaganda to avoid corruption cases Ntate Thabane is determined to expose. These certain LCD members are also being used by the DC to distabilise the country. During their rule, that is before the coalition government took over in June 2012, the DC members did as they pleased and enjoyed themselves through the abuse of public resources. They even strategically blocked investigations from the police and the DCEO (Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offenses) so that they could do as they pleased. Some examples of this behaviour was resembled in the cases of the death of an American Peace Corp Volunteer near the residence of LCD stalwart Mpho Malie, the death of the son of the then Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili and the controversial shooting of the then Natural Resources Minister Monyane Moleleki. While the police and DCEO investigated these cases and had leads, the then government authorities strategised means to stop them because they knew they were somehow involved.
LT: In a recent statement issued by the DC, the prime minister is accused of politicising the police, and say Police Commissioner (COMPOL) Khothatso Tšooana is being seen most of the times using the police to pursue Dr Thabane’s agendas. What does the ABC have to say about this?
Mapesela: First of all, it should be clear that both the army and the police are departments falling under the office of the prime minister. This, based on the law, means Ntate Thabane directly has control on these two departments. He is vested with powers to make changes in these departments. But for long, even way before we got into the current situation, the army, led by Kamoli, seemed to reject being controlled by Ntate Thabane. They went further and failed to cooperate with the police. They chose to go their own direction, while they were being influenced by certain members in the LCD. The army committed heinous crimes such as killing people in Mafeteng. The soldiers recently shot some two people near the home of their commander (Kamoli), and the other one, a woman, died. The LDF was suspected in the bombings of the homes of three families in Maseru, the COMPOL’s included. They failed to cooperate with the police investigations thereafter. And this is the kind of army the very LCD and DC members are saying if its commander is dismissed, blood will be spilt. In other words they are willing to die for Kamoli. It is not true that Ntate Thabane is politicising the police service. The truth of the matter is they are the ones politicising the army.
LT: There is also the issue of the South African police and the army being deployed in Lesotho last week, to protect Dr Thabane, among other duties, which is being challenged by the opposition. Is it OK that the prime minister is now being guarded by South Africans?
Mapesela: Absolutely. The Lesotho army, which used to protect Ntate Thabane, has now rebelled against him. How can anyone trust an army which wanted to overthrow him? Ntate Thabane had no other option after the police were also attacked by the army, which resulted in its suspending services for about four days. The only protection he could now seek was from neighbouring South Africa.
LT: Having said all this, do you think the ABC made the wrong decision to partner the LCD in government?
Mapesela: No. Like I said, there are only a few individuals in the LCD who are corrupt and have tried to destabilise this country so that they won’t be prosecuted. The LCD is still a good party to partner with us in government because its ideology is also to fight corruption. I will not mention these people by names now, but they are creating a huge problem in the party and in our government.
LT: How do you see this country getting out of this situation and going forward?
Mapesela: We are currently engaged in talks as executive committees from the three parties in government. Let’s hope we find a lasting solution to our problems through these talks.
