Ramaphosa arrives in Lesotho for mediation

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in Lesotho for further mediation to bring stability to the country, the presidency said on Tuesday.

"SADC facilitator and SA Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived this morning [Tuesday] in the Kingdom of Lesotho to continue with his facilitation efforts on behalf of SADC to assist in bringing the country back to constitutional normalcy," the presidency said in a statement.

The visit was in the context of the Southern African Development Community's mandate for Ramaphosa to help create dialogue to address political and security issues in Lesotho.

The country has been in turmoil since an attempted coup on August 30.

Prime minister Tom Thabane fled to South Africa and Lesotho police officer Mokheseng Ramahloko was killed during the attempted overthrow.

Ramaphosa would be supported by SADC deputy executive secretary Themba Mhlongo who was leading the regional body's team of experts and members of the secretariat including Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana.

During his previous two visits, Ramaphosa paid courtesy calls and briefed King Letsie III, met members of the Coalition Political Parties including Thabane, main and small opposition parties, the Electoral Commission, the Council of Churches, the College of Chiefs, as well as members of the NGO sector.

He was expected to return to South Africa on Wednesday.