No decision on BDF troops for Lesotho
Bame Piet | Wednesday September 3, 2014 16:20
A decision on alleviating the Lesotho coup can only be made by President Ian Khama, with recommendation from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The Botswana Defence Force troops would have to go under the umbrella of the Southern Africa Development Committee (SADC).
“The only time we can do that is after the Minister of Foreign Affairs has made a recommendation to the president, who has the powers to authorise military deployment. But we can only do that under the mandate of the SADC Brigade,” Seretse said yesterday.
The defence minister explained that the SADC Convention clearly states that no country should interfere in the affairs of another sovereign state, unless doing so under the authorisation of the regional bloc.
SADC meanwhile, has reported turned down Lesotho’s request for peacekeepers.
Lesotho has been steeped in turmoil since the weekend, when prime minister, Thomas Thabane, fled to South Africa accusing the army of overthrowing him.
Thabane and his deputy Mothetjoa Metsing, have since held talks with South African president Jacob Zuma in Pretoria, after it emerged that the coup was over differences between the two.
It is reported that the police and the army are divided between Thabane and Metsing, with the former having already appealed for military intervention from South Africa.
Speaking to Mmegi yesterday, a Lesotho-based journalist and former Lesotho Times news editor, Carswel Tlali said the situation was still tense in the streets of Maseru.
In an exclusive interview, he said that the public division between supporters, and opponents of the Prime Minister was visible everywhere.
He said that early yesterday, the Commissioner of Police announced that all police officers would be off-duty, on the grounds that the army had seized ammunition and police uniforms during its raids.
“The army has raided several police stations, and the latest was the Police Training College where they seized police uniforms and others. The Police Commissioner was of the view that the army personnel might end up committing crimes, and it would be difficult to identify the real culprits,” he said.
Tlali added that even the government was divided after an announcement was made that the army commander would be replaced.
“Those who are in support of the Prime Minister welcomed the replacement, whilst his opponents including the Communications Minister, who is also the government spokesperson opposed it,” he said.
The journalist added that troubled started when the major coalition party, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy, expressed dismay at the prime minister’s decision to close the national assembly for nine months, and demanded that it be reopened immediately.
He added that many journalists were doing their work without intimidation or threats from the combatants.
“The only incident happened on Saturday when the army raided all police establishments seizing ammunition. All radio stations were off-air, but the situation has returned to normal,” he said.