Political Unrest in Maseru

I want to start this off by saying that all of the information that I am about to share is to the best of my knowledge through newspaper, radio and word of mouth.

In June, there was going to be a vote of no confidence in our current Prime Minister. So, he actually closed the Parliament (which is allowed by the Lesotho constitution), therefore not allowing them to vote him out. His Deputy Prime Minister is from another political party and is also not on great terms with the PM right now. On Friday, August 29, new reports are that the PM dismissed the General of the Lesotho Defense Force (most likely on grounds of corruption). So during the night (early Saturday morning) the Military, under direction of the dismissed General, went into action. They stormed 3 Maseru police stations and disarmed all the police in Maseru, one police man was killed and 4 were wounded. They were also reportedly looking for case files (apparently very specific ones). The military also stormed the PM’s house but he was long gone to South Africa. They also shot at the Deputy General of the Lesotho Defense Force’s house too (while he was in it) and he has since fled the country. That all happened in the early morning hours Saturday morning. Side Note: The Police support the PM, while the Lesotho Defense Force supports the Deputy Prime Minister.

The rest of Saturday was quiet and we even went to the mall to get supplies on Saturday afternoon and nothing appeared out of normal. Sunday was also calm around the city, but you could feel the tension in the air. During those times, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister were in talks with South African officials of how to resolve the issues here peacefully. In the meantime, the #3 in line to the Minister was in charge and he fell ill, so the country is technically being run by the #4 in line, until the PM or Deputy PM return.

Also since Saturday, the General that was dismissed has declared that he is still the General in charge of the Lesotho Defense Force and the Deputy General of the Defense Force is still in South Africa. One major issue right now is that there are one or two political parties that still support the dismissed General as the current General and the rest of the parties are supporting the Deputy General as the current General. Confused yet?

In the meantime, there are no police anywhere in Lesotho as they are terrified of being harassed or shot by the military. Yesterday (Monday) all was quiet in town and we went to dinner down town with a large group of volunteers. Ooops. Bad idea. We were all safe, but during dinner, the electricity went off all over Maseru (and at Beautiful Gate) and there were reports of gun shots heard in Maseru. We were able to finish dinner and drive back to BG with no incident. The roads were actually very quiet and no one was monitoring them. We also received an e-mail from the US Embassy that said all non essential US Citizens should leave the country due to deteriorating security and politics. So, this morning we woke up (no other incidences) and Anita and I decided that all our volunteers should go to South Africa for the rest of the week, while we monitor the situation.

Today has been quiet all day and BG has even been able to get all the supplies it needs to be self sufficient for a couple weeks, if needed. The Prime Minister has announced that he will be returning to Lesotho today, but no one knows when. This could be a very tense situation when he does arrive as the Defense Force does not like him and there are no police to help maintain peace. The US Embassy is worried about the lack of political leadership in Lesotho, the lack of police for normal civilian services, and the unstable military situation.

The Basotho people have impressed me, in the fact that, during this time of no police, there has been relative calm, no major crimes, etc. The morals of the people are keeping them in check. But, with that, ex pats are increasingly at danger of being looted or harmed, as we are seen to have money and stuff and there are no police to “catch” them. Lawlessness could rule, but it hasn’t so far. All of this “stuff” has happened in the city and we are outside of the city. So, we are safe, “hunkering down” and monitoring the situation. The Southern African Development Community (SADC,a group of countries in Southern Africa) are helping the PM and Deputy PM, and a timeline for the parliament to be restored has been made.

If anything should happen tonight, Anita and my kids will be taking a vehicle and joining the other volunteers in South Africa as soon as it is safe. I will be staying with Beautiful Gate through it all. It is easy for me to hide on campus and have the staff assist me with any food or other supplies needed. Please pray for peace and that there will be a steady and peaceful return to politics here in Lesotho. Please pray that the parliamentary timeline set by SADC will be installed and work well. There are SADC defense forces ready to intervene at a moments notice, but that is not wanted by anyone in Lesotho. The last time that SADC came in (1998) half of the city of Maseru was looted and burned. Please pray that cooler heads prevail in the government, police and military levels. Please pray for a peaceful night in Lesotho tonight.

We wanted to share this with all of you not because we are involved in the politics, but because we could be affected if these issues are not resolved peacefully. We ask for your support and prayers during this uncertain time. Currently, we have been able to keep things running normally here at Beautiful Gate, but it is possible that if a peaceful resolution is not agreed upon soon, our day to day operations could be affected.

Bryan and Anita