DAVID LE PAGE, Johannesburg | Friday 9.00pm.
THE Lesotho government has washed its hands of the issue of 30 Lesotho Defence Force soldiers arrested on charges of mutiny, saying the law must take its course.
But the opposition, which has demanded the soldiers’ release, is arguing that the soldiers’ mutiny was a political issue and should be resolved on a political level, while the government’s action ignores agreements signed on Wednesday.
Opposition parties also point to an assurance given 1500 LDF soldiers by the Southern African Development Community forces on entering Lesotho — that if they laid down their weapons and returned to barracks they would suffer no further consequences.
The unknown soldiers were arrested on Wednesday and Thursday, according to Lesotho opposition representative Mamello Morrison, by LDF military police assisted by South African National Defence Force troops.
“There is a witchhunt in progress”, said Morrison on Friday night. She accused the Lesotho government of ignoring recently established joint committees for dealing with security matters, saying their actions “make a mockery of these agreements”.
Lesotho law makes mutiny a treasonable offence, punishable by death. The opposition has met with Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, cabinet ministers and the Attorney-General, but were told no intervention would be made.
Opposition meetings with Lesotho Defence Force chief Makhula Mosakeng and police commissioner Bolutu Makoaba were as fruitless. The opposition is now trying to reach South African Deputy Minister of Defence Ronnie Kasrils and Safety and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi to discuss the issue.
Government spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said on Friday night that Mufamadi is still in the process of trying to establish a mechanism to resolve the disputes, having been in contact with both sides.
Mufamadi chaired a meeting on Wednesday with the Lesotho opponents, trying to establish how the country will be governed before elections scheduled for 18 months time. It was at that meeting that agreements were signed establishing the need for co-operation over various issues, including security.