Johannesburg - In a pre-dawn operation, a group of South African special forces helped whisk Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane across the border to safety just hours before a raid on his house during an attempted coup.
According to the Sunday Times, the South African soldiers, who are based in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, had moved into Lesotho on Friday afternoon and were accompanied by a group of diplomats.
Local diplomats say the South African government has been trying to broker a peace deal in the mountain kingdom for more than two months, reports the newspaper. It reported that trouble has been brewing in the country since June, after Thabane – who has close ties to the controversial Gupta family – dissolved parliament amid rumours that MPs were going to pass a vote of no confidence against him.
It all came to a head on Saturday when the military seized power in a coup.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that Thabane had fled to SA in fear of his life.
"I have been removed from control not by the people but by the armed forces, and that is illegal," Thabane told the BBC.
"I came into South Africa this morning and I will return as soon as my life is not in danger," he said.
"I will not go back to Lesotho to get killed."
Lesotho's military seized control of police headquarters and the premier's residence in the capital Maseru in the early hours of Saturday, but later withdrew, a government minister told AFP.
"The armed forces, the special forces of Lesotho, have taken the headquarters of the police," said sports minister and leader of the Basotho National Party, Thesele Maseribane.
Lesotho's military however denied it had seized power, a spokesperson told an SA television station. Instead, the army's operation was aimed only at disarming police which were preparing to provide arms to certain political parties in Lesotho, military spokesperson Major Ntele Ntoi told the ANN7 news channel.
However, the SA government said it was not immediately sending troops to Lesotho
On Saturday, August 30, 2014 11:01:12 PM UTC+3, Charles Banda wrote:
Brigadier Maaparankoe Mahao's dog was shot dead during the attack.
SUSPENDED Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) Brigadier Maaparankoe Mahao survived an assassination attempt at 4 am this morning after his Koalabata home was attacked by suspected armed soldiers.
Brigadier Mahao managed to escape unscathed from the attack in which his dog was shot dead and three cars were partly destroyed.
According to family spokesperson, Lehloenya Mahao, the brigadier is now in hiding.
The attack on Brigadier Mahao's home comes as LDF soldiers today took over control of police stations in Maseru that include Police Headquarters, Maseru Central Charge Office and Mabote Police Station, the main office for the police's Special Operations Unit.
Brigadier Mahao was awaiting his fate in a Court Martial in which he is charged with indiscipline and "behaving in an unbecoming manner as an officer".
Brigadier Mahao's case had been postponed two weeks ago to a date yet to be announced to enable Judge Advocate Baholo Matobo to present his findings and make recommendations to the court regarding the suitable verdict on his case. LESOTHO TIMES
On Saturday, August 30, 2014 10:59:33 PM UTC+3, Charles Banda wrote:LEGAL NOTICE NO. 64 OF 2014
Lesotho Defence Force (Appointment of Commander) Notice, 2014
I, KING LETSI III, pursuant to section 12 (1) of the Lesotho Defence Force Act, 1996 and acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, appoint BRIGADIER MAAPARANKOE MAHAO, as Lieutenant_General of the Lesotho Defence Force with effect from 29th August, 2014.
On Saturday, August 30, 2014 7:39:08 PM UTC+3, Abdalah Hamis wrote:Lesotho prime minister Tom Thabane fled to South Africa after troops seized police stations in an alleged coup attempt in which one person was killed and an unknown number of others injured, according to news reports from the capital, Maseru on Saturday.
By early Saturday afternoon, Maseru time, the situation was still unclear. But troops had returned to their barracks in the wake of the removal of the country's military commander by King Letsie III, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reported.
The BBC reported that Thabane had said in an interview that he had been "removed from control" by the armed forces. "I came into South Africa this morning and I will return as soon as my life is not in danger," he told the BBC. "I will not go back to Lesotho to get killed."
Earlier, officials and broadcasters said the army had taken control of police headquarters in Maseru and were patrolling the streets in armoured vehicles and on foot.
A member of Thabane's ruling coalition, Thesele Maseribane, said"armed forces, the special forces" had taken control. "They've jammed phones, they have jammed everything," he was reported as telling Agence France-Presse.
The Lesotho Times reported that when the army units pulled out of police headquarters, they "left anarchy in their wake as police had fled the building fearing for their safety." As a result a number of awaiting trial suspect had been turned loose.
The SABC interviewed a Lesotho army spokesperson who said the commander of the Lesotho Defence Force had been fired in a government gazette published late on Friday night, and a replacement appointed. The SABC said the new commander was Maaparankoe Mahao.
In a separate report, the Lesotho Times said Mahao had survived an assassination attempt at 4 am on Saturday morning after his home was attacked by "suspected armed soldiers."
Lesotho has been in political turmoil for more than than two months after Thabane, who heads a shaky, squabbling coalition government, suspended Parliament for nine months. It has experienced coups and upheaval on a number of occasions since independence in 1966: in 1970, when an administration facing defeat in an election seized power; in 1986 when that government was overthrown by the military; and in 1998 when instability led to a chaotic South African military intervention.
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