Lesotho’s foreign minister was shot and wounded in a weekend attack at his house, Independent Online reported on Monday.
It quoted police as saying Monyane Moleleki was attacked by several gunmen as he arrived at his home in the capital, Maseru, after midnight on Sunday.
”The culprits managed to hurt the arm of the minister, who was immediately rushed to the hospital where he is reported to be recovering well,” a police statement said.
Police said the gunmen, who had apparently staked out Moleleki’s house awaiting his arrival, fled and that no arrests had been made.
Moleleki has been tipped as a possible successor to Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili following general elections due next year.
Police did not suggest any motive for the attack, but local media suggested it may have been political.
Moleleki had been attending the weekend national conference of the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD).
The LCD has been beset by tensions over the succession issue amid hints that Mosisili may seek to run for an unprecedented third term in the 2007 general elections, despite some opposition within the party.
Lesotho has experienced previous bouts of political instability, including a 1998 army mutiny after the LCD won general elections that year amid allegations of vote rigging.
Widespread looting and rioting eventually prompted a South African-led military intervention. — Sapa