Johannesburg - Foreign ministers of three Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states will be discussing the recent events in Lesotho, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) confirmed on Sunday.
“Foreign ministers of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia are meeting tonight in Pretoria to talk about matters of Lesotho,” said Dirco spokesman Clayson Monyela on Sunday.
He said South Africa called the meeting in its capacity as the chairing nation of SADC's organ on politics and defence.
Monyela could not confirm an apparent meeting between President Jacob Zuma, Lesotho's Prime Minister Thomas Thabane and members of the kingdom's coalition government.
According to The Associated Press, Thabane was meeting with leaders of his country's coalition government and Zuma to discuss the recent unrest.
On Saturday, Thabane told the BBC that he had fled for his life across the border to South Africa, accusing the military of seizing power in a coup and leaving the country in flux.
“I have been removed from control not by the people but by the armed forces, and that is illegal,” Thabane reportedly said.
“I will return as soon as my life is not in danger... I will not go back to Lesotho to get killed.”
Meanwhile, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) refuted claims that it was involved in foiling the alleged coup.
Spokesman Siphiwe Dlamini said that as “far as (he) was aware” there had been “none whatsoever” - in terms of reports that South African soldiers had assisted in bringing down an alleged mutiny.
Dlamini was responding to an article in the Sunday Times with the headline “SA special forces foil Lesotho coup”.
The article reported that SANDF troops - based in Phalaborwa, Limpopo - had entered the country on Friday, along with a group of diplomats. The article said a pre-dawn raid had then been carried out on Saturday in Maseru to assist Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane to flee the country into South Africa.
“I'm not sure that the reports from the Sunday Times are accurate. This matter is at a much higher level than just the defence force,” said Dlamini.
He said the matter would be dealt with by the Southern African Development Community.
Dlamini said the South African government continued to “monitor the situation”. - Sapa