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Mass demo cancelled as Lesotho faces power vacuum

– ‘I heard gunshots’ –

Intelligence officials have pointed the finger of blame at Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli for the attacks, seemingly acting after the prime minister tried to remove him from his post.

Kamoli’s supporters are also accused of being behind the attempted assassination of his replacement, Lieutenant General Maaparankoe Mahao, on Saturday morning.

Shortly before dawn Mahao’s redbrick bungalow on the outskirts of Maseru was sprayed repeatedly with automatic gunfire, as he, his wife and three sons aged five to 15 were at home.

“At around four o’clock I heard some gunshots,” his wife Mamphanya Mahao told AFP, describing how she ushered her sons to a safe place in the house and waited in silence.

“The gunshots went on for about 30 minutes,” after which her husband fled the property and possibly the country. Only a family dog was killed.

After the attack junior soldiers told AFP they were not now sure who their commander was.

Lesotho defence force spokesman Ntlele Ntoi denied the military was involved in the attack on Mahao and said the actions on Saturday were designed to prevent the police from arming political “fanatics.”

The military, led by Lieutenant General Kamoli, is seen as broadly supportive of the deputy prime minister’s Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) party.

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The LCD has been in an ever-more dysfunctional coalition government with Prime Minister Thabane since 2012.

The prime minister suspended parliament in June, forcing divisions in the ruling coalition to the fore.

Amid the depended turmoil at the weekend, Maseru’s residents stocked up on food and basic necessities.

“People are worried what will happen, because ‘no work, no pay’,” said fruit and vegetable vendor Kamele Pakisi. “There is no stability.”
There were concerns that the anti-government demonstration planned for Monday would bring a new chapter of violence.

“We are not afraid of today, we are just afraid of tomorrow,” said Mphasa Chonela.

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