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Lesotho former commander to appear in court

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The former Army Commander of Lesotho, Tlali Kamoli has spent the weekend in custody and he will appear in court next week.

His arrest comes at a time when the Southern African Development Community (SADC) still has to send troops as part of the resolution of the SADC Troika.

Several members of the opposition have fled Lesotho in fear of arrest citing a purge of senior politicians after they lost power in the recent June elections. The arrest of Tlali Kamoli will likely shed some light on allegations of a reign of terror during his tenure as an army commander.

“Kamoli is in police custody, there are number of issues, due to the investigations we carried out starting with that one of General Motsomotso’s murder, investigations led to other issues …the cases like 30th August 2014 and other issues. So we have information which he has to clarify,” says Commissioner of Police, Holomolo Molibeli.

Kamoli’s legal team has defended their client.

“The fact of the matter is he gave lawful orders to people, if at all they decided to execute them criminally, the blame will not be placed at the doorstep of my client. So for people who actually wish because of the divided nature of our society, that he should be locked up for a long time, I don’t think it’s going to happen…he is going to walk,“ said Kamoli’s lawyer, Letuka Molati.

The former commissioner of police is also on the run and is alleged to have skipped the country. Meanwhile, the Lesotho opposition has filed a motion of no confidence in the Thabane led coalition citing bad governance.

The Lesotho parliament is currently on break and may resume in the coming two weeks or so. The latest developments may confirm the view that stability remains elusive in Lesotho.


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– By Rapelang Radebe

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