Lesotho wants officers sacked over PM safety

MASERU

Lesotho has demanded the expulsion of two senior officers from a SADC police mission, accusing them of sabotaging the security of Prime Minister Tom Thabane and other top officials.

In a confidential letter to the Southern African Development Community and its lead negotiator Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday, the government expressed “certain reservations” about a South African Lieutenant Colonel and Brigadier.

“Once we request that they be released from their services, it’s effectively saying they are expected to be,” Government Secretary Moahloli Mphaka told AFP on 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 PM to briefly flee to South Africa.

“The handling of this issue could be a recipe for disaster,” Mphaka said. “This is not meant to harm the integrity of those officers, but to protect the integrity of the SADC observer-mission.”

ACCUSED OF CONSPIRING

Mphaka refused to give details of the specific allegations against the two officers, but another senior government official said the two commanders were accused of conspiring with Thabane’s rivals to “sabotage the mission.”

“SADC itself is doing an excellent job here, but we don’t want it to be frustrated by undue influences,” the official told AFP.

A third top-ranking official in the government’s tripartite coalition, Thesele Maseribane, told AFP he believes his movements are being leaked by SADC to elements of the Lesotho Defence Forces.