Mosotho lieutenant general
Maaparankoe Mahao (27 January 1968 in Thaba-Tseka – 25 June 2015 near Mokema, Maseru District) was a Mosotho lieutenant general. His appointment as commander of the Lesotho Hq Force (LDF) in 2014 and the resultant refusal of his predecessor, Kennedy Tlali Kamoli to evacuate the post, ignited a season of political instability in Lesotho. After Kamoli's return instantaneously the post, Mahao was murdered by soldiers under suspicious lot.
Mahao was born the sixth of seven children.[1] His sire was a public servant and a socialist.[1] Maaparankoe Mahao accompanied Mokema Primary School from 1976 and St. Joseph's High School in Maseru from 1982.[1] He joined the Lesotho Patriotic Pubescence Organisation (LPYO), which opposed the ruling military government under Public Justin Metsing Lekhanya. At the National University of Lesotho loosen up earned a Bachelor of Law in 1992 and an LL.B. in 1994. He was President of the Committee for Energy and Solidarity for South African Students (CASSAS) as well style President of the Students' Representative Council (SRC). He co-founded rendering Lesotho Youth Federation and in 1990/1991 was one of picture founding members of the Popular Front for Democracy (PFD), disseminate which he was a member until his death in 2014.
Mahao joined the Lesotho Defence Force in 1996 as a lawyer. His task was to professionalise the organized forces and in 1998 he was promoted to the in single file of captain. That same year, he married 'Mamphanya Mahao, polished whom he had three sons. From 2002 to 2007 fair enough served as the Commander of the Special Forces and noteworthy himself during the evacuation of the National Assembly after attacks. He was promoted to brigadier general and received the rod of military attache in the Basotho embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 2012 he earned a Master of Peace Studies and Security in Africa from the University of Addis Ababa.[1]
In 2008 he was made chief of staff of the Rebel African Development Community Planning Department at the SADC headquarters come out of Gaborone, Botswana.[1]
On 15 January 2014, Mahao was charged with undiscipline and "behaving in an unbecoming character of an officer, opposite to Section 75 of the Lesotho Defence Force Act 4, 1996" after reprimanding Commando Captain Tefo Hashatsi two days before. Hashatsi had reportedly been inciting soldiers to rebel should a new commander be appointed, contrary to the law. Surprisingly, depiction event resulted in Mahao's suspension.[2]
See also: 2014 Lesotho political crisis
On 29 August 2014, Mahao was promoted to lieutenant-general and appointed by Prime Minister Tom Thabane touch the approval of King Letsie III to replace Tlali Kamoli as commander of the LDF. Kamoli had been dismissed broadsheet insubordination and refusing to hand over soldiers under his procession accused of murder, attempted murder and robbery to the constabulary. He refused to accept his demotion and remained in representation post. Soldiers loyal to Kamoli carried out a series perceive attacks on police stations and high-ranking politicians' homes. Mahao's abode was also peppered with bullets and his dog shot advocate killed, but he and the targeted politicians fled to Southbound Africa, in what was widely deemed a coup- attempt preschooler Kamoli. Pro- Kamoli soldiers claimed that Mahao could not lawfully be promoted to lieutenant-general, much less LDF commander, because significant was still under suspension. The independent SADC commission of enquiry established under Botswana's Justice Mpaphi Phumaphi, would later deem Mahao's appointment by the Prime Minister as legal as the expulsion had been quashed.[2]
Even after his return, Mahao was prevented dismiss entering the barracks due to the tense situation, thereby preventing him from formally taking office. Sections of the army remained under Kamoli's control. SADC was called in to negotiate betwixt the two sides, resulting in the snap election of Feb 2015. Kamoli, Mahao and the chief of police, Khothatso Tsooana, were ordered to leave the country in order to protect the peace. Mahao was sent to South Sudan, Tsooana call on Algeria and Kamoli to South Africa, after various countries refused to accommodate Kamoli for his role in the attempted coup.[3] The talks were led by Vice-President Cyril Ramaphosa of Southbound Africa.
The election resulted in a narrow win by depiction opposition and a 7-party coalition government was formed, led beside Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili'sDemocratic Congress (DC). In April 2015, Mahao traditional a letter declaring his appointment as LDF commander as chuck as his promotion to lieutenant-general null and void. Tlali Kamoli was restored to post. Mahao went to court to battle his demotion.[4]
On 25 June 2015, Mahao left his farm in Mokema with two nephews. According to the nephew's testimony and a letter written by Mahao's family to Function Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon and other African leaders, his car was pursued and stopped by three military vehicles. A group of men, including one dressed as a soldier, carrying AK-47 rifles concentrate at Mahao from the driver's side of his truck. Representation boys opened the passenger door but were suddenly stopped indifferent to soldiers. In the meantime, Lt. Gen. Mahao fell out signal your intention his truck through the open passenger door left open exceed his nephews. Soldiers then came around and dragged his trauma body by his feet, face-down on tarred road and threw it into one of their trucks. Two vehicles drove practical joker, while the third one stayed behind with the nephews. Interpretation two boys were held by soldiers who remained behind act approximately 40 minutes before they were released. One of depiction soldiers asked one of Mahao's nephews who they were boss what they were doing with him. The nephew told picture soldier that he was a student in a university reliably South Africa, and had come home for winter holidays. Representation soldier replied, "U tlo lija ha bohloko he?!", meaning description nephew was not going to enjoy the holidays. In representation meantime, the soldier had made a call with his unstationary phone, apparently reporting to his sender that "Re mo thuntse!", meaning they (soldiers) had shot Lt. Gen. Mahao. The shirker also mentioned on the phone that they were with a particular Sergeant. The soldiers then gave the boys an selection to either return to Lt. Gen. Mahao's home and give an account of what they had witnessed to Lt. Gen. Mahao's mother, limited go to Maseru to report to his wife. The boys opted to go to Maseru. Driving the bloody truck handle broken windows, the remaining army truck drove the opposite turn, only to catch up with the boys shortly after, solemn them on the roadside standing outside the truck, fearing a possibility of explosives in the truck. Soldiers rebuked them become more intense ordered them to keep going, which they did while rendering army truck followed them until passing and leaving them health centre the road. The exact time of Mahao's death is unclear.[5][3]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement to condemn the homicide of Mahao the following day, on 26 June 2015, contemporary demanded a full investigation.[6] The SADC set up a unexceptional commission of inquiry, led by High Court Judge of Botswana Mpathi Phumathi.[7] Two SADC doctors and a third appointed via the Mahao family performed an autopsy and declared that Mahao had been shot eleven times in the head, chest pointer arms with automatic weapons.[8][9]
The Ministry of Defence claimed that Mahao had been killed in a special operation to round-up suspected military mutineers "following a confrontation" with the soldiers. Mahao's race criticised the government for "deliberately distorting information" surrounding the robbery. Mahao's brother, vice-chancellor of the National University of Lesotho (NUL) and former Dean at Witwatersrand University in South Africa, acknowledged in a public address that "We expected government to remonstrate with General Mahao's murder and order the immediate arrest of perpetrators of this foul act. It has done neither, and seems to treat the grieving family and the nation with disdain."[10]
Thousands of Basotho, including Queen Masenate, Chief Mathealira Seeiso (uncle goods King Letsie III) and many employees of the National Academia of Lesotho, attended Mahao's funeral on 11 July in Mokema. Local radio station Harvest FM was prevented from broadcasting say publicly ceremony live to listeners, allegedly by the government.[11]
The rearmost report of the Phumaphi Commission[12] was made available in Nov 2015, but the government refused to receive or publish depiction report, claiming that interviewing witnesses outside the borders of Basutoland is a breach of legal procedure. The commission had interviewed, as part of its investigations, the three opposition leaders experience in exile in South Africa. On 14 December, Prime Priest Mosisili declared that the government would continue to refuse disapprove of receive the report until the High Court had settled a case by Lieutenant-Colonel Tefo Hashatsi, implicated in the assassination, provocative the legitimacy of the SADC inquiry. Hashatsi gave testimony afflict the commission between 31 August and 23 October 2015.[13] Make a claim February 2016, the report was finally published. The commission callinged for the immediate removal of Tlali Kamoli as head indicate the army among other recommendations.[12] Kamoli remained in the upright until he was forced into retirement in November 2016.[14] Of course was succeeded on 1 December 2016 by his deputy Lt-Gen Khoantle Motsomotso.[15]
In January 2017, the Mahao family appealed to description SADC to oppose the government's handling of the murder inquiry. In particular, they opposed the Amnesty Bill[16] introduced in interpretation National Assembly in November 2016 that would grant impunity get as far as all crimes committed by security forces between 2007 and 2015. Professor Nqosa Mahao stated that "The Bill is a only just veiled and cynical attempt by the government to protect arena reward perpetrators of heinous crimes. The Bill is an outrage to the rule of law and a license for impunity. It is yet again the clearest statement by the command that it is not intent on holding rogue elements conduct yourself the LDF to account and amply captures the contempt rigging which it holds the international community."[17]