Staff Writer
THE Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) has been urged to fully cooperate with the incoming administration of Prime Minister-elect Thomas Thabane after the South African government issued a stark warning this week that it would never tolerate a military coup in Lesotho.
South Africa’s unambiguous warning came in the wake of rampant speculation that the LDF, which attempted to topple Dr Thabane in a coup in August 2014, was bent on destabilising his returning administration and was sulking that he had won the June 3 elections in place of outgoing Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili’s coalition, which had enjoyed cosy relations with the army.
Speculation that the LDF could be used to destabilise Dr Thabane’s incoming coalition was heightened when outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing made controversial remarks that his coalition with Dr Mosisili had won power because of the army and hence the army required protection from Dr Thabane.
But in declaring that it would not tolerate a military coup in Lesotho, the South African government was sending a clear message to the LDF that it should desist from its past actions and should instead cooperate with the incoming Thabane-led coalition government, said constitutional law expert and political analyst Hoolo ’Nyane.
South Africa’s bold declaration was made by its International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane’s at a media briefing earlier this week. She said South Africa in particular and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in general would not tolerate any attempt to overthrow a democratically-elected government in Lesotho.
Dr Thabane’s All Basotho Convention (ABC), the Alliance of Democrats (AD), Basotho National Party (BNP) and Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL) last week cobbled up the 63 seats they garnered in the 3 June 2017 parliamentary elections to form Lesotho’s next coalition government.
The four-party alliance ousted a seven-party coalition government led by outgoing Prime Minister Dr Mosisili which could only muster a combined 47 seats, 14 short of the 61-seat threshold to form government.
Dr Thabane is scheduled to be inaugurated tomorrow after the Council of State yesterday confirmed his election as premier by the four parties.
At her press briefing, Ms Nkoana-Mashabane said a military coup would not be tolerated.
“Not in any corner of our (Southern African Development Community) region, not in any corner of our continent will we ever tolerate a military coup,” she said.
“This was made very, very clear to everyone in Lesotho two weeks ago. They have just had (another) election a year and a half ago, and they have also undertaken to go back to the reforms which they themselves say have bedevilled focus on governance.
“So the coup thing, I think it is as clear as (daylight), we will not allow it to happen, not in our backyard. That’s not a threat; it’s just the way it is.”
She said the South African government would continue to monitor the situation in Lesotho.
“So we take it that Lesotho’s election has gone ahead and that there will be that acceptance. Of course, we will continue to monitor and support the Basotho in their endeavour to find peace.”
In his previous stint as premier – which lasted from 2012 to 2014 — Dr Thabane accused his erstwhile deputy, Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) leader Mothetjoa Metsing, of collaborating with the LDF in a raid on three key Maseru police stations on the morning of 30 August 2014.
The raid was widely condemned as a coup attempt, although Mr Metsing and the LDF claimed otherwise.
The raid, which left one police officer dead, triggered a chain of unsavoury events that led to the collapse of Dr Thabane’s government and the intervention of SADC and other international bodies to bring back political stability in Lesotho.
Dr Thabane had fled the country for South Africa on the eve of the raids, allegedly after being warned his life was in danger from rogue elements of the LDF. He returned to Lesotho under the protection of South African security personnel in September 2014.
In May 2015, after the elections that had returned Dr Mosisili to power, Dr Thabane fled again to South Africa and was soon followed by his BNP and RCL counterparts Thesele ‘Maseribane and Keketso Rantšo respectively who also cited threats to their lives emanating from the LDF.
However, the LDF denied the allegations that it had planned to murder the opposition leaders.
The trio returned to Lesotho on 12 February 2017, ahead of a successful 1 March 2017 parliamentary no-confidence vote on the Dr Mosisili-led government.
Ahead of the 3 June 2017 elections, the LDF allayed fears it was planning to stage a coup d’état in the event that the Dr Mosisili-led government lost the parliamentary elections.
The LDF’s head of Public Affairs, Brigadier Ntlele Ntoi told the Lesotho Times, then that the army’s mandate was to “adhere to the principles of democracy”.
Dr ’Nyane, who is also head of the Public Law Department at the National University of Lesotho, said in an interview that the South Africans’ statement was meant to send a “clear message” to the LDF to cooperate with the incoming administration. He said the LDF was better advised to heed the warning from South Africa and avoid any temptation to destabilise the incoming administration in whatever way.
“South Africa is sending a message to the LDF and other stakeholders that nothing short of cooperation with the incoming government would be acceptable to them and the region as a whole,” he said.
“There has been speculation that the army would not cooperate with the Thabane regime to the possible extent of attempting to topple it.
“However, our neighbour has made it clear they would not sit idly by while such activities are taking place…..The LDF will be well advised to heed the warning”
Dr ’Nyane said SADC, which is perceived to be a very weak regional body, had been “embarrassed” by the no-nonsense stance taken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on former Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh who had refused to step down after losing elections.
This was after ECOWAS had given Mr Jammeh less than 24 hours to step aside or face being forcibly removed in January this year.
The long-time ruler eventually relented and went to exile in Equatorial Guinea.
“SADC has been embarrassed by ECOWAS which has not been tolerating democratic infractions in its region…..So the regional body seems ready to flex its muscle to prove that it is not weak ,” said Dr ’Nyane.
“For its part, South Africa is asserting itself as a regional leader and the military would do well to take heed.”
Repeated efforts to contact Brig Ntoi this week were fruitless yesterday as his phone was not reachable.
