Lesotho's Embattled PM deploys army on streets

Thomas Thabane, Lesotho's embattled prime minister has announced that he has sent troops onto the streets to "restore order", accusing unnamed law enforcement agencies of undermining democracy.

Prime Minister Thomas Thabane is under pressure to step down after police said they suspect him of having had a hand in the murder of his estranged wife in 2017, a case that has thrown the country into political turmoil.

In an address on public television on Saturday, 80-year-old Thabane said he had "deployed the army to take control of this situation and take necessary measures against these elements in alignment with the security orders and restore peace and order".

This is to avoid putting the nation in danger," he said.

A highly placed government source said police commissioner Holomo Molibeli, his deputy Paseka Mokete and another senior police officer have been arrested by the army.

"The general informed the prime minister that he has arrested Holomo, Mokete ... They are temporarily detained at Makoanyane Barracks," the source told AFP in the capital Maseru.

There was a heavy presence of armed soldiers, in bulletproof vests and helmets, patrolling the streets.

Other soldiers drove around Maseru in armoured cars.

The prime minister said he was "surprised" that some "institutions entrusted with maintaining order and adhering to law are busy tarnishing the very principles" of the country's stability and democracy.

He said the army would also help enforce a 24-day coronavirus lockdown in the country, which has so far not recorded a single case.

The prime minister's order is the latest twist in a saga that has gripped the southern African kingdom.

Source: AFP