Slain general’s family snub Lesotho PM

(in the pic - President Jacob Zuma welcomes Lesotho Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili on arrival). The President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Mr Jacob Zuma, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, hosts the Heads of State of the SADC Double Troika for an Extra-ordinary Summit of the Double Troika. The SADC Double Troika Summit received reports from the SADC Facilitator to the Kingdom of Lesotho, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the SADC Ministerial Organ Troika Fact-finding Mission, which was urgently sent to Lesotho to assess recent the political and security developments in the Kingdom. 03 July 2015, Pretoria, Elmond Jiyane, GCIS

(in the pic - President Jacob Zuma welcomes Lesotho Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili on arrival). The President of the Republic of South Africa, His Excellency Mr Jacob Zuma, in his capacity as the Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, hosts the Heads of State of the SADC Double Troika for an Extra-ordinary Summit of the Double Troika. The SADC Double Troika Summit received reports from the SADC Facilitator to the Kingdom of Lesotho, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the SADC Ministerial Organ Troika Fact-finding Mission, which was urgently sent to Lesotho to assess recent the political and security developments in the Kingdom. 03 July 2015, Pretoria, Elmond Jiyane, GCIS

Published Jul 5, 2015

Share

Johannesburg - The family of slain former Lesotho army head Brigadier-General Maaparankoe Mahao have turned down a request by Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili to visit their home to pay his condolences.

The family thought this would not be proper, the general’s brother, Professor Nqosa Mahao, said.

“We cannot accommodate (him) at this time.”

Instead, the family were ready to receive South Africa’s Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and her Namibian counterpart, who arrived to pay their last respects at the behest of President Jacob Zuma, current chairman of the Southern African Development Community’s security organ and secretariat.

Mahao was shot dead last week as he was driving from his farm in Mokema to the capital, Maseru. It is suspected the assailants were soldiers. At least one of them was dressed in army fatigues.

Mahao was thrown into the eye of the storm in the Mountain Kingdom when he was appointed army chief by the then-prime minister, Tom Thabane, to replace Lieutenant-General Tlali Kamoli.

Mahao averted a mutiny that was meant to topple Thabane, but was not able to stop the coup, however short-lived, that removed him from office.

The stand-off between Thabane and Mosisili has been seen as an obstacle to peace in Lesotho. They were asked to leave the country to ensure the elections, brought forward to February this year from 2017, were peaceful.

Thabane and his coalition lost the elections to the coalition headed by Mosisili.

When he assumed office, Mosisili quickly reappointed Kamoli to the top post in the military.

Thabane has not been able to stay in the country, skipping into South Africa from time to time.

The house of his girlfriend was attacked in August. This was “at the same time as my brother’s house came under fire”, Mahao said.

Three of his brother’s vehicles were destroyed in the attack: “We showed this to the SADC mediator.”

The mediator, South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, left Lesotho on Thursday after yet another fact-finding mission.

The SADC double troika met in Pretoria on Friday, with the violence in Lesotho at the top of their agenda.

Speaking to The Sunday Independent earlier this week, Mahao said the body had been released to the family and a post-mortem was to be conducted on Thursday.

The family had invited Ramaphosa to view the body so they could dispel the contention by the authorities that Mahao walked to hospital after the shooting. “There’s just no way this could have happened,” Mahao said.

The family is adamant their version is true – that the general was dragged along the tarmac to one of the attackers’ vehicles before they sped off with him. The two boys who were with the general are receiving counselling. The general was buried yesterday in Mokema.

The Sunday Independent

Related Topics: