Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa was dispatched to Lesotho as political instability in the mountain kingdom worsened following the killing of a former defense chief.
President Jacob Zuma, as head of Southern African Development Community’s peace and defense committee, “has become more concerned about the apparent explosive security situation in Lesotho,” South Africa’s government said in a statement on Tuesday.
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Ramaphosa was sent to Lesotho after a SADC committee visited the country from June 26 to 29 and reported its findings to Zuma on the deteriorating political situation, according to the statement.
Maarparankoe Mahao, Lesotho’s former defense force commander, was shot dead on June 25 by soldiers during an operation to arrest suspected coup plotters, according to the defense ministry.
The kingdom has been in turmoil since ex-Prime Minister Tom Thabane dismissed Tlali Kamoli as army commander for alleged coup plotting and replaced him with Mahao in August. After Feb. 28 elections produced no clear winner, a coalition government led by the Democratic Congress named Pakalitha Mosisili as premier and Kamoli was reinstated.
- Bloomberg
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