SECURITY PROMISED AFTER MURDER OF OPPOSITION OFFICIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000265 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR AF/S; GABORONE FOR RSO PRETORIA FOR POL E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/5/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC LT SUBJECT: SECURITY PROMISED AFTER MURDER OF OPPOSITION OFFICIAL REF: (A) DCM-AF/S TELECON 6/3/06 (B) MASERU 260 (C) MASERU 35 (D) MASERU 164 CLASSIFIED BY: June Carter Perry, Ambassador, EXEC , STATE. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Lesotho's Deputy Prime Minister has assured the diplomatic community that suspects in the June 2 murder of an opposition party leader will be fully pursued and said he has met with the Lesotho Defense Force/Security personnel to assure a safe environment. He lamented that this incident (and the shooting of the Foreign Minister in January) was "not good for the image of Lesotho." These comments were communicated during preparations for the Sunday (June 11) visit of Ireland's President. Bereng Sekhonyana was gunned down on Friday, June 2, 2006 outside his residence in Hoohlo. According to police, he was shot by at least four (4) gunmen using automatic rifles and pistols. The guns included an Israeli made Galilee and an AK 47 assault rifle. Sekhonyana was the representative appointed by the Speaker of Parliament to attend a 2005 SADC meeting against the wishes of the opposition BNP leadership. ¶2. (SBU) According to the police, Sekhonyana arrived at his residence at around 20:00 hours, as he approached the gate, he honked for the gate to be opened but suddenly, his attackers emerged and shot and killed him at close range while he was still seated in his vehicle. An assortment of about 18 shells from the rifles and pistols were discovered scattered around his vehicle the following day. The fatal shooting of Sekhonyana comes a few days after the leadership of the BNP was suspended from Parliament (see Ref B). Sekhonyana was the younger brother to the late Rets'elisitsoe Sekhonyana, Leader of the BNP who preceded Lekhanya. He represented the BNP on the Interim Political Authority (IPA) which forged the present mixed member parliament. He was also a member of the Parliamentary Reforms Committee. ¶3. (SBU) He was one of a small faction of disgruntled BNP Members of Parliament (MPs) who dubbed themselves the "struggle for democratic change" rebelled against the leadership of their party under Major General Metsing Lekhanya in January 2005 and announced that they had elected Thabang Nyeoe as their leader. The situation was further exacerbated by the Speaker of the National Assembly's decision of nominating Sekhonyana to attend the SADC Parliamentary Forum meeting in Gaborone, Botswana in September 2005 without consulting the BNP leadership. The BNP leadership subsequently wrote letters to the Speaker urging her to reconsider her decision. A petition by the BNP Youth League through a protest march to Parliament also took place. The Speaker responded by making a statement in Parliament reprimanding the BNP leadership, and requesting protection from the House. A motion condemning the BNP was passed and the Leader of the House, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, recommended that the matter be taken to the Privileges Committee. On May 18, 2006, the committee made recommendations for five (5) senior BNP members to be suspended from Parliament. ¶4. (SBU) On May 31, 2006, the National Assembly adopted all the recommendations of the Privileges Committee and General Lekhanya was suspended from Parliament for 10 months without pay and the other senior members for 6 months without pay. (Note: Sekhonyana was not among the suspended BNP members. End Note.) On Sunday, June 4, 2006, the Deputy Prime Minister who is also the Minister responsible for Home Affairs and Public Safety, made a statement on state media, Radio Lesotho, indicating that Sekhonyana's death was tragic, unfortunate and uncalled for. He also stated that the police would do everything in their power to bring those responsible for the shooting into custody. ¶5. (SBU) On the same day, the National Executive Committee of the BNP released a press statement expressing its shock and condemning the act. The committee undertook to assist law enforcement authorities towards a speedy apprehension of the culprits and also appealed to party members and Basotho of goodwill to give leads that would assist in the conclusion of this matter. The committee also expressed gratitude to the Deputy Prime Minister for his assurance that everything will be done to bring the perpetrators to justice. It also appealed to the bereaved family as well as party members to exercise patience and give the hand of the law the opportunity to deal with the matter. ¶6. (SBU) Sekhonyana lived in Hoohlo, which is located near the Lesotho and South African border opposite Maseru West, where many dignitaries stay. The Royal Palace, the Prime Minister's residence, official residences of Ministers, foreign dignitaries including the U.S. Ambassador and other senior government officials are located in Maseru West. Sekhonyana's residence is less than a kilometer from the Embassy and the Ambassador's MASERU 00000265 002 OF 002 residence. ¶7. (C) Comment: The resurgence of political killings has taken many in Lesotho by surprise, occurring as it has when the country is gearing up for national elections next year. Many observers are already speculating about the shooting. Some are saying this is an act by "loose cannons" within the BNP or members of the ruling party who want to discredit Lekhanya and his party. Lekhanya and the senior leadership of the party are also suspects according to observers. The statements by the DPM and the BNP leadership both call for thorough investigations and bringing those responsible to justice. While the DPM remains cynical about the BNP's statement, he has promised to take full security measures as Lesotho hosts a number of international visitors as was done over the past year with Ambassador Tobias, the UN's Stephen Lewis, former President Clinton and EU delegations. This incident reinforces the need for political education and prompt round up of weapons which the DPM asserts are residuals of 1998 disturbances. End Comment PERRY