SADC Double Troika Chaired by Nyusi

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

SADC Double Troika Chaired by Nyusi

8:15 CAT | 20 Jan 2016

Jornal Notícias

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi told reporters in Gaborone on Monday that the “double troika” of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has decided to propose the suspension of Lesotho from the organization to the next summit of SADC heads of state and government.

The “double troika” consists of the leadership of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation (Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania, and currently chaired by Nyusi), and the SADC presidential troika (Botswana, Swaziland and Zimbabwe). Lesotho, represented by Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, attended the Gaborone meeting as an invited guest.

Nyusi said the proposal to suspend Lesotho arose from the fact that the Lesotho government has refused to receive the report from the commission of inquiry set up to investigate the circumstances of the assassination in June 2015 of the Chief of Staff of the Lesotho armed forces, Brigadier Maaparankoe Mahao.

The purpose of the Gaborone meeting was to review the conclusions and recommendations of the commission of inquiry and to analyse proposals intended to support reconciliation in Lesotho.

“Lesotho thought it should not receive the report that was produced at its own request”, said Nyusi. “Its reply was a ‘no’ because there is a court case under way against the SADC mission which drew up the report. From this ‘no’, the double troika understands that Lesotho thinks the regional organization will not be of much help”.

Nyusi added that, while awaiting a decision of the heads of state summit, the double troika will no longer follow the Lesotho dossier. The SADC Secretariat may shortly publish the report to make public what happened and the reasons behind the double troika decision.

“What is at stake is a concrete problem which counted on the full support of the regional organization”, said Nyusi. “Various meetings were held, but it was found that there is no collaboration from the government of Lesotho”.

He added that it makes no sense that Lesotho, which requested support from SADC, should now be suing members of the SADC mission in the courts. So the meeting decided to propose the suspension of Lesotho from SADC and to take the matter to the summit, since the attitude shown by the Lesotho authorities could not be tolerated.

“The commission of inquiry worked for Lesotho”, said Nyusi. “Things cannot be allowed to reach this extreme. We shall see how things develop. Maybe they will reconsider their position”.

The commission of inquiry was headed by Botswana high court judge Mpaphi Phumaphi. SADC also appointed South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as its facilitator in the Lesotho crisis, and he visited Lesotho in December. After the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security received the report from judge Phumaphi’s commission, it was informed of the court challenge.

Ramaphosa was then instructed to return to Lesotho to present the government with SADC’s concerns about the court case. It was in the wake of these events that the Gaborone meeting took place.

The court case seems to be an attempt to ensure that the report will not see the light of day – a futile move, since SADC does not need Lesotho’s approval to publish it.

It was Mosisili who removed Brig Mahao from his post as commander of the Lesotho Defence Force, and two months later Mahao was assassinated. The current court case has been moved by the commander of the LDF special forces.

What are said to be excerpts from the draft commission report have been put on Twitter by a South African journalist. They include recommendations for the removal of Defence Minister Tšeliso Mokhosi, as well as of Mahao’s replacement as army commander, Lt. Gen Tlali Kamoli.

Symptomatic of the instability in Lesotho is the fact that Thomas Thabane, leader of the opposition, and Mosilili’s predecessor as Prime Minister, fled the country in May 2015, and went into exile in South Africa. claiming that he was at risk of assassination. The fate of Mahao the following month suggests that his fears may have been well grounded.

Source: AIM