SADC foils Lesotho bid to muzzle Phumaphi

SADC tasked Phumaphi with a 60-day Commission of Enquiry into Maaparankoe Mahao’s murder, but the local judge’s efforts soon raised the ire of authorities in the kingdom who challenged the investigation’s scope.

No sooner had Phumaphi begun hearings into the matter, than Lesotho prime minister, Pakalitha Mosisili and his government complained to SADC that the judge was flaunting the Commission’s terms. Mosisili, seen as close to the army commander widely suspected in Mahao’s murder, also challenged the Commission’s validity.