MASERU – The renegade general accused of leading a failed coup attempt in Lesotho has left the kingdom along with two of his rivals as part of a deal to restore security, the South African mediator said on Saturday.
Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli is under investigation for treason and murder following the 30 August putsch, which saw the military attack several police installations and the prime minister’s residence, killing one police officer.
Kamoli as well as a rival general, Maaparankoe Mahao, and Lesotho police commissioner Lhotatso Tsooana left the small mountain kingdom on Friday for “working visits” in Uganda, Sudan and Algeria, respectively, said South African deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa in a statement.
“This is an important confidence building measure in returning the country to security stability as this will add to the creation of a climate that is conducive for elections to take place in February 2015,” Ramaphosa said.
Early last month, Ramaphosa as mediator for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the Lesotho crisis, helped broker a political agreement that re-opened parliament for the first time since June and pushed forward national elections by more than two years.
Then on 17 October, Ramaphosa convinced Kamoli to sign a security accord that called for him to take an indefinite “leave of absence”, handing over control to his deputy commander.
Under the accord, Mahao and Tsooana were to similarly hand over authority to enable their two security forces to re-establish a “harmonious relationship”.
Friction between the Lesotho military and police routinely turns violent and has been a major destabilising force in recent months.
Lesotho has demanded the expulsion of two senior officers from a SADC police mission, accusing them of sabotaging the security of Thabane and other top officials.
In a confidential letter to the Southern African Development Community and Ramaphosa on Monday, the government expressed “certain reservations” about a South African Lieutenant Colonel and Brigadier.
“Once we request that they be immediately released from their services, it’s effectively saying they are expected to be,” Government Secretary Moahloli Mphaka told AFP Wednesday.
“I believe quick action will be taken,” he added.
The southern African bloc deployed more than 100 police to protect Thabane and other government officials following an attempted coup on August 30, which forced the prime minister to briefly flee to neighbouring South Africa.
