Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has been urgently sent
to Lesotho to consult with Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili following fears of
more political instability in the country.
The
decision was taken by President Jacob Zuma, who is the chairperson of the SADC
organ on politics, defence and security co-operation, the Southern Development
Community (SADC) said in a statement on Tuesday.
Ramaphosa
is the SADC facilitator on Lesotho.
The
decision to deploy him was taken after three opposition party leaders fled the
country and the killing of former Lesotho Defence Force commander Brigadier
Maarparankoe Mahao, SADC said.
Mahao
was allegedly shot dead by soldiers in his home on the outskirts of Maseru on
Thursday.
'Explosive security situation in Lesotho'
Zuma,
in his SADC capacity, sent a ministerial organ fact finding mission to Lesotho
from Friday, June 26 to Monday, June 29, to assess the latest political and
security developments in the country.
"After receiving the report of the fact finding mission, President Zuma
has become more concerned about the apparent explosive security situation in
Lesotho," SADC said.
This
informed his decision to urgently send Ramaphosa to Lesotho.
"Further,
President Zuma is sending a special envoy to the chair of SADC, HE Robert
Mugabe, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe to share his deep concerns about
the security situation in Lesotho as contained in the ministerial fact finding
mission."
Zuma
condemned the killing of Mahao, which he said was an unfortunate and tragic
incident which undermined Lesotho's efforts towards a peaceful transition
following elections in February.
He
sent his condolences to the Mahao family, King Lestsie III, the government and
the people of Lesotho.
Source: News24
0 comments:
Post a Comment