Pretoria - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has been reappointed to continue with his facilitation work for peace and stability in Lesotho.
This decision was taken at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Double Troika Summit held in Pretoria on Friday evening.
Deputy President Ramaphosa’s appointment follows the recent killing of Lieutenant General Maaparankoe Mahao and the fleeing of several opposition leaders.
Friday’s summit‚ which was attended by six SADC states -- South Africa‚ Zimbabwe‚ Botswana‚ Lesotho‚ Namibia and Malawi, ordered an immediate investigation into Mahao’s murder.
The summit decided as a matter of urgency to establish an independent Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death and its deployment with immediate effect.
Two pathologists from South Africa will assist with the post-mortem process of Mahao’s death while a team of investigators from Zimbabwe and Namibia would be made available to assist with the investigation.
An oversight committee, which will act as an early warning mechanism in the event of signs of instability, will also be established and intervene in consultation with Deputy President Ramaphosa.
“This renewal of the facilitation mandate also came against the background of the tabling and endorsement of Deputy President Ramaphosa’s final report on his facilitation process to restore peace and stability in Lesotho in 2014,” the Presidency said on Sunday.
This facilitation process culminated in the signing of the Maseru Facilitation Accord, the Maseru Security Accord and the Electoral Pledge.
According to the Presidency, the signing of these agreements helped create a climate conducive for the re-opening of Lesotho’s parliament in 2014, the stabilisation of the security situation and the holding of democratic elections early this year which were declared free, fair and credible by electoral observer missions.
At Friday’s summit, Deputy President Ramaphosa also tabled his reflections on the proposed constitutional and sector reforms to the SADC Double Troika Summit.
These reflections were adopted by the summit which made a call to all Lesotho’s political parties to implement the recommendations and urged them to undertake constitutional and security sector reforms assisted by SADC. – SAnews.gov.za
