Lesotho PM flees to SA: Army seizes power in coup

By Marafaele Mohloboli

MASERU (Reuters) – Lesotho's Prime Minister Thomas Thabane on Saturday accused his country'sarmy of staging a coup against him and fled to neighbouring South Africa, which condemned the military's action and called for a peaceful settlement.

Early morning gunfire was heard in Maseru, capital of the small southern African kingdom encircled bySouth Africa. Army units occupied police headquarters and surrounded the prime minister's residence, residents and diplomats said.

Hours after the army's move, the capital was reported to be quiet but it was not immediately clear who was running the government of the mountainous state of two million people.

Thabane, who in June had dissolved parliament to avoid a no-confidence vote against him amid feuding in his two-year-old coalition government, said he had crossed over to South Africa because he feared for his safety.

"There was clearly an effort to launch a coup," Thabane told Reuters, saying he was at his daughter's home in South Africa.

"We are taking concrete steps to nip it in the bud," he added, saying the regional Southern African Development Community (SADC) was addressing the situation.

South Africa, speaking on behalf of SADC, condemned the actions of the Lesotho military, which it said "bear the hallmarks of a coup d'etat". It called on Lesotho's army commander to order his units back to their barracks.

"Any unconstitutional change of government shall not be tolerated," South African Foreign Ministry spokesman Clayson Monyela told a news briefing in Pretoria.

Earlier, giving its version of events, the Lesotho Defence Force denied attempting a coup against Thabane, saying it had moved against police elements suspected of planning to arm a political faction, an army spokesman said.

"There is nothing like that (a coup), the situation has returned to normalcy … the military has returned to their barracks," Major Ntlele Ntoi told Reuters. He added the military "supports the democratically-elected government of the day".

Ntoi said one soldier and four police had been injured during the army action. At least one witness reported police officers being detained by soldiers.

COMMONWEALTH CONDEMNS

Diplomats in Maseru said the Lesotho army was mostly loyal to Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing, who had vowed to form a new coalition that would oust Thabane. The police force largely supported the prime minister, the sources said.

South Africa's Monyela said no individual or body had claimed to have taken over the government. "The situation is still unfolding," he said, adding South Africa urged the coalition leaders to settle their differences peacefully.

The Commonwealth, most of whose member states are former British colonies, also condemned the reported coup.

"There is zero tolerance in the Commonwealth of any unconstitutional overthrow of an elected government," Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said in a statement sent to Reuters.

Thabane said he had fired the Lesotho Defence Force commander, Lt.-Gen. Kennedy Tlali Kamoli, replacing him with Brigadier Maaparankoe Mahao. But the army spokesman told Reuters Kamoli was still in charge of the military.

Thabane said: "Commanders of armies are appointed by government, it is not up to them to say who is in control."

He said he intended to return home, but did not specify when. "That is something I will have to weigh," he said.

Since independence from Britain in 1966, Lesotho has undergone a number of military coups. In 1998 at least 58 locals and eight South African soldiers died and parts of Maseru were damaged during a political stand-off and subsequent fighting.

Besides textile exports and a slice of regional customs receipts, Lesotho's other big earner is hydropower exported to South Africa from the massive mountain ranges that have made it a favourite of trivia fans as "the world's highest country" – its lowest point is 1,380 metres (4,528 feet) above sea level.

From Agence France-Presse

Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane claimed Saturday he fled in fear of his life after soldiers seized power in a coup, despite the military denying it overthrew the tiny mountain kingdom's government.

Powerful neighbour South Africa and the Commonwealth backed Thabane's claims, with Johannesburg warning the Basotho army that such action "shall not be tolerated".

"I have been removed from control not by the people but by the armed forces, and that is illegal," Thabane told the BBC.

"I came into South Africa this morning and I will return as soon as my life is not in danger," he said.

"I will not go back to Lesotho to get killed."

Lesotho's military seized control of police headquarters and the premier's residence in the capital Maseru in the early hours of Saturday, but later withdrew, sports minister and leader of the Basotho National Party, Thesele Maseribane told AFP.

"The (military) commander said he was looking for me, the prime minister and the deputy prime minister to take us to the king. In our country, that means a coup," he said.

But military spokesman Major Ntele Ntoi denied the claims, saying soldiers had merely disarmed police before returning to their barracks.

"There has never been and there will never be a coup in Lesotho perpetrated by the military," he told South Africa's ANN7 television news channel.

"The military embarked on an operation to disarm the police, who, according to the intelligence gathered by the military, were arranging to arm some of the political sides in Lesotho," he said.

Police officers locked up and left their headquarters after the military raid, a witness said.

Heavily armed security forces were driving police cars through the city in the afternoon, according to an AFP correspondent.

An AFP photographer was pursued and his camera smashed after taking pictures of soldiers.

The putsch comes just months after a power struggle in the landlocked country that describes itself as the "kingdom in the sky".

Maseribane said people with guns were roaming the city but that he had no information about casualties, accusing the military of jamming radio stations and phone networks.

He accused Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing, leader of coalition partner Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), of involvement in the move to seize power.

"There is some intelligence that he is part (of the coup)," he said.

An aide who answered Metsing's phone told AFP the deputy premier was at a funeral service outside Maseru and unaware of the events.

The LCD is part of a shaky coalition which has governed since elections two years ago.

But, increasingly frustrated with Thabane, the party vowed months ago to form a new government and oust the premier in the nation that is entirely surrounded by South Africa.

In response, Thabane suspended parliament — with the blessing of King Letsie III who has ruled the constitutional monarchy since 1996 — allowing him to dodge a no-confidence vote.

After emergency talks in June, the coalition parties, including Thabane's All Basotho Convention (ABC), agreed to continue working together.

Regional heavyweight South Africa issued a strong response to the military's actions, saying they bore "hallmarks of a coup d'etat".

Foreign affairs spokesman Clayson Monyela warned that such unconstitutional change of government shall not be tolerated."

Pretoria saw military intervention as "last resorts", he added. "Let's give diplomacy a chance."

The Commonwealth urged the military to return power to the government.

"It is imperative that the military take urgent and immediate steps to return the country to civilian rule and return to the barracks," Commonwealth secretary-general Kamalesh Sharma said in a statement.

Maseribane said he had fled his residence after receiving a warning about an impending putsch, and refused to divulge his whereabouts.

"There's still a lot of danger. People who have arms are running around Maseru," he said.

Two clerics who were part of the team that mediated the coalition deal in June said they were rushing to the capital.

"Pray for our country, we don't know what is happening," Lesotho Evangelical Church head Simeon Masemene told AFP.

Lesotho is no stranger to political crisis.

In 1986, South Africa's apartheid government instigated a coup to prevent the country being used as a base by the African National Congress and other activists.

In 1998, following election riots, South Africa and Botswana embarked on an ill-fated invasion that reduced the capital to rubble.

In recent decades there has been a series of attempted political assassinations.

sf-arb-jcm/hmn