Lesotho's Deputy Premier Takes Reins After PM Flees 'Coup'
by VOA News
Lesotho's Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing is now running the government after the Prime Minister Thomas Thabane fled the country accusing the army of staging a coup, a minister said on Sunday.
Gunfire rang out in the capital, Maseru, on Saturday, according to witnesses, who said soldiers patrolled the streets, occupied government buildings and surrounded Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's official residence.
Thabane left with his family for neighboring South Africa after receiving intelligence that he was the target of a military assassination attempt. He said the military action amounts to a coup.
In a phone interview with VOA, the prime minister said the situation involved "total indiscipline" in the army. He said soldiers were "running around the streets, threatening people" and "quite openly stating that they want my neck."
Thabane accused a former top military commander of leading the unrest. He said he would return to his country as soon as he knew he "was not going to get killed."
Military officials in Lesotho have denied plotting a coup. Officials said they moved against police elements suspected of trying to arm a political faction. They said soldiers have returned to their barracks, the streets have quieted and the country has returned to normal.
Thabane told VOA the attempt to overthrow his administration stemmed from his fight to root out corruption in Lesotho. He urged the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to help restore order.
Leadership unclear
A military spokesman Major Ntlele Ntoi said the army only responded to an imminent threat from what he called "political fanatics" whom members of the police force were trying to arm.
"What happened this morning was that the command of the Lesotho Defense Force was acting after receiving several intelligence reports that amongst the police service, there are some elements who are actually planning to arm some of the political, party political youth fanatics who were on the verge of wreaking havoc," he said.
A South African government spokesman, Clayson Monyela, said no one is claiming leadership in Lesotho. However, he said the military's actions have the markings of a putsch.
"Although no one has claimed to have taken over government through the use of force, by all accounts the activities of the Lesotho defense force thus far bear the hallmarks of a coup d'etat," he said.
Military officials in Lesotho say soldiers have returned to their barracks and the situation in the country is calm.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing said tensions have been high since Thabane made a "unilateral" decision to dissolve parliament. News reports say some members of the country's military are loyal to Metsing, instead of the prime minister.
A rocky recent history
The mountainous kingdom, surrounded by South Africa, has repeatedly been beset by political instability since gaining independence in 1966. Until then it had been a British protectorate known as Basutoland.
A peaceful election in 2012 produced a three-party coalition government that many observers hoped would bring lasting stability — but the fragile government reportedly collapsed several months ago.
In June, South Africa had issued a stern warning to Lesotho after the prime minister suspended parliament in what appeared to be an attempt to dodge a no-confidence vote.
Instability is inherent in Lesotho’s political system, says Tom Wheeler, a former South African diplomat who is now an independent analyst.
"Well, I suppose the problem is it’s a democracy," Wheeler said, noting that coalition partners and the opposition disagreed "with what the prime minister is doing, and therefore have pulled the plug on the coalition. And I think that’s the cause of the instability.
"This man who’s the prime minister is a democratically elected person from a not-majority party, and that sort of instability is built into the system."
Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy with a king whose powers are largely ceremonial. The kingdom had been a British protectorate known as Basutoland.
South Africa’s role
Wheeler said South Africans should not be overly concerned about upheaval in the enclave, despite their history of armed intervention in Lesotho's previous political crises.
"It’s not going be a big issue," he said, recalling that in 1998, Mangosuthu Buthelezi — a tribal leader who’d held senior positions in the African National Congress — was South Africa’s acting president while Nelson Mandela was abroad. He sent an SADC force to Lesotho to try to prevent a coup. The troops “were repulsed by the Lesotho army. It was a great embarrassment to South Africa,” Wheeler said.
"So I think we would stand back and say, ‘Get on with it, boys, it’s not our problem,’ and not be worried about it."
VOA's English to Africa service contributed to this report. Anita Powell contributed reporting from Johannesburg.
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| Ousted Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane has fled to South Africa. |
Lesotho's Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing is now running the government after the Prime Minister Thomas Thabane fled the country accusing the army of staging a coup, a minister said on Sunday.
Gunfire rang out in the capital, Maseru, on Saturday, according to witnesses, who said soldiers patrolled the streets, occupied government buildings and surrounded Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's official residence.
Thabane left with his family for neighboring South Africa after receiving intelligence that he was the target of a military assassination attempt. He said the military action amounts to a coup.
In a phone interview with VOA, the prime minister said the situation involved "total indiscipline" in the army. He said soldiers were "running around the streets, threatening people" and "quite openly stating that they want my neck."
Thabane accused a former top military commander of leading the unrest. He said he would return to his country as soon as he knew he "was not going to get killed."
Military officials in Lesotho have denied plotting a coup. Officials said they moved against police elements suspected of trying to arm a political faction. They said soldiers have returned to their barracks, the streets have quieted and the country has returned to normal.
Thabane told VOA the attempt to overthrow his administration stemmed from his fight to root out corruption in Lesotho. He urged the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to help restore order.
Leadership unclear
A military spokesman Major Ntlele Ntoi said the army only responded to an imminent threat from what he called "political fanatics" whom members of the police force were trying to arm.
"What happened this morning was that the command of the Lesotho Defense Force was acting after receiving several intelligence reports that amongst the police service, there are some elements who are actually planning to arm some of the political, party political youth fanatics who were on the verge of wreaking havoc," he said.
A South African government spokesman, Clayson Monyela, said no one is claiming leadership in Lesotho. However, he said the military's actions have the markings of a putsch.
"Although no one has claimed to have taken over government through the use of force, by all accounts the activities of the Lesotho defense force thus far bear the hallmarks of a coup d'etat," he said.
Military officials in Lesotho say soldiers have returned to their barracks and the situation in the country is calm.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing said tensions have been high since Thabane made a "unilateral" decision to dissolve parliament. News reports say some members of the country's military are loyal to Metsing, instead of the prime minister.
A rocky recent history
The mountainous kingdom, surrounded by South Africa, has repeatedly been beset by political instability since gaining independence in 1966. Until then it had been a British protectorate known as Basutoland.
A peaceful election in 2012 produced a three-party coalition government that many observers hoped would bring lasting stability — but the fragile government reportedly collapsed several months ago.
In June, South Africa had issued a stern warning to Lesotho after the prime minister suspended parliament in what appeared to be an attempt to dodge a no-confidence vote.
Instability is inherent in Lesotho’s political system, says Tom Wheeler, a former South African diplomat who is now an independent analyst.
"Well, I suppose the problem is it’s a democracy," Wheeler said, noting that coalition partners and the opposition disagreed "with what the prime minister is doing, and therefore have pulled the plug on the coalition. And I think that’s the cause of the instability.
"This man who’s the prime minister is a democratically elected person from a not-majority party, and that sort of instability is built into the system."
Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy with a king whose powers are largely ceremonial. The kingdom had been a British protectorate known as Basutoland.
South Africa’s role
Wheeler said South Africans should not be overly concerned about upheaval in the enclave, despite their history of armed intervention in Lesotho's previous political crises.
"It’s not going be a big issue," he said, recalling that in 1998, Mangosuthu Buthelezi — a tribal leader who’d held senior positions in the African National Congress — was South Africa’s acting president while Nelson Mandela was abroad. He sent an SADC force to Lesotho to try to prevent a coup. The troops “were repulsed by the Lesotho army. It was a great embarrassment to South Africa,” Wheeler said.
"So I think we would stand back and say, ‘Get on with it, boys, it’s not our problem,’ and not be worried about it."
VOA's English to Africa service contributed to this report. Anita Powell contributed reporting from Johannesburg.
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