The Lesotho prime minister’s request for aid was the reason behind the suspension of his government, writes Wiseman Khuzwayo
A REQUEST from ousted Lesotho Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle to Southern African leaders for a peace-keeping force to quell an army uprising lay behind King Letsie III’s dramatic suspension of his government, the Mail & Guardian learned this week.
Evaristus Sekhonyana, appointed by Letsie as foreign minister in the interim government he formed after dissolving that of Mokhehle, said he believed Mokhehle’s action would either plunge the country into civil war or precipitate a military coup.
Speaking from Gaborone, Botswana this week, Sekhonyana claimed Letsie’s action against Mokhehle’s government — which swept to power in the kingdom’s first democratic elections last year — was sparked by the discovery last month of a letter in which Mokhehle requested a peace-keeping force from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe to quell an internal military dispute.
Sekhonyana said Mokhehle, when confronted with the letter, conceded he had ommitted to inform the king and parliament of the request.
“He lied to parliament and the nation. The king has the right to be informed on all matters of state. What Dr Mokhehle did was treason and a crime.”
A small group of Lesotho citizens living and working in South Africa demonstrated outside Pretoria’s Union Buildings in support of Mokhehle while President Nelson Mandela, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and Botswana’s President Ketumile Masire began discussions with King Letsie and the man he deposed in last Wednesday’s “royal coup”.
The Southern African leaders were expected to threaten economic sanctions against the land-locked kingdom unless the king restored democracy.
Members of his country’s legal profession announced a stayaway yesterday, demanding that Letsie’s new government step down and calling for a return to the rule of law and the constitution.
The Law Society of Lesotho also demanded the resignation of Lesotho Chief Justice Joseph Kheola, accusing him of violating a basic principle of justice by swearing in members of the monarch’s provisional government without first consulting his fellow judges.
A two-day general strike in protest against Letsie’s action ended on Tuesday pending the outcome of yesterday’s talks.
The law society has called on all its members to boycott any court appearances from last Wednesday to this coming Wednesday. Its members had already joined the two-day general stayaway at the beginning of this week.
The statement claimed Kheola’s actions had undermined the independence and integrity of the Lesotho judiciary at a time when he should have demonstrated that the impartiality of the judiciary was unquestionable.
According to Candi Raimoane, editor and publisher of Lesotho’s weekly, Mo Afrika, the intervention of Archbishop Desmond Tutu had not been well received by many of those opposed to the interim government formed by King Letsie III.
Tutu was invited to arbitrate in the crisis by the Lesotho Christian Council. At the end of his mission, Tutu called for a Codesa- type of dialogue to resolve the crisis.
“But the critics point out that the council itself had not come out clearly and opposed the new government. Tutu’s appearance was seen as some sort of foreign intervention instead of the council sitting down and resolving the domestic question,” said Raimoane.
This was denied by Ramolulela Taula, general secretary of the council.
He said: “The LCC does not have a specific stand on the issue. It accepts that there may have been bad things on both sides. It therefore facilitated the two sides to come together and review the situation.
“Before we make statements we must be sure of the facts. We are doing so much without calling it to the attention of the people and the media.”