LESOTHO: RSA REPORTEDLY GRANTS ASYLUM TO ACCUSED COUP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000452

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR AF/S;
GABORONE FOR RSO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ASEC PINS LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO: RSA REPORTEDLY GRANTS ASYLUM TO ACCUSED COUP
PLOTTERS

REF: A) MASERU 439; B) MASERU 436; C) MASERU 428; D) MASERU 385

MASERU 00000452 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Republic of South Africa has reportedly
granted temporary asylum to six Basotho men accused by the GOL
of involvement in alleged coup plotting. Two of the men claim
torture, and in a recent press interview all denied any
involvement in attacks on ministerial residences. The South
African High Commission in Maseru told Emboff that they have not
been officially informed of the asylum cases, but that they had
no reason to doubt that temporary asylum had been granted. On
July 27, representatives of diplomatic missions viewed recently
recovered weapons, including Israeli-made Galilee rifles stolen
from LDF guards during the June 2007 attacks. The asylum cases
and aggressive reporting from media outlets may soon force the
GOL to come to terms with fact that the Galilee rifles were not
found in the hands of members of the opposition All Basotho
Congress (ABC) party, but in the hands of more obscure groups
with less explored grievances. END SUMMARY.



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South Africa Reportedly Grants Asylum

To Six Accused in June 2007 Attacks

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2. (U) According to published reports, six Basotho men whom the
GOL accuse of involvement in alleged coup plotting have been
granted temporary asylum by the Republic of South Africa. The
men deny involvement in the attacks, and two state that the
Lesotho Defense Force (LDF) tortured them at Makoanyane Military
Hospital (reftel D). The men are Mokherane Tsatsanyane (age
33); Khotso Lebakeng (age 45); Pakiso Semoli (age 46); Motlomelo
Motlomelo (age 36); and two former soldiers and bodyguards for
ABC leader Thomas Thabane: Makotoko Lerotholi (age 58) and Thabo
Thantsi (age 36). Local English-language newspaper "Public Eye"
interviewed the six men in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and
published their accounts on July 27. All six denied any
knowledge of or involvement in the June 2007 attacks on
ministerial residences.




3. (SBU) When contacted by post, South African Deputy High
Commissioner Albert Wanich stated that the South African High
Commission in Maseru had not been informed by Pretoria of the
asylum cases, but that he had no reason to doubt that temporary
asylum had been granted. He noted that the South African
Department of Home Affairs had jurisdiction over such cases, and
that it would not be unusual for the High Commission to be "out
of the loop." Wanich stated that he would share word with post
when the High Commission had received official word on the
matter from Pretoria.



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The Maseru Gun Show

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4. (U) On July 27, the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS)
invited the heads of Maseru's resident diplomatic missions to
view weapons recovered by the police and the Lesotho Defense
Force (LDF) during recent operations. These weapons included
the eight recently recovered Israeli-made Galilee rifles stolen
from LDF guards at ministerial residences in June 2007 (reftel
B). Charge was joined by representatives of resident diplomatic
missions, and the GOL was represented by Minister of Local
Government Sekatle, LDF Commander Motanyane, Police Commissioner
Letooane, and Deputy Police Commissioner Mhlakaza.




5. (U) After a short briefing by Deputy Police Commissioner
Mhlakaza, the diplomats viewed a collection of automatic weapons
(including the Galilee rifles),semiautomatic weapons and
handguns. Mhlakaza stated that the non-military weapons
displayed were illegal firearms confiscated from criminals in
northern Maseru. In addition to the guns, authorities also
displayed confiscated police uniforms, and oddly, blankets and

MASERU 00000452 002.2 OF 002


mattresses.



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Inconvenient Inconsistencies

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6. (SBU) COMMENT: If accurate, reports about the South African
Government's provision of asylum, even temporarily, for men
accused in the June 2007 attacks on ministerial residences in
Maseru could prove to be an issue in the South Africa-Lesotho
bilateral relationship. Reportedly, opposition leader Thomas
Thabane has strong personal ties to President Mbeki, and
Thabane's election campaign received an unusual amount of
attention in the South African press and support from Basotho
residents in South Africa. The GOL's display of recovered
weaponry, while an obvious victory for the nation's security
organs, raises the inconsistency of the continued arrest of
individuals related to the nation's legal political opposition
(the ABC party) while those caught with the weapons appear to
come from different factions (the aging and, until now,
seemingly defunct Lesotho Liberation Army). The South African
asylum cases and aggressive reporting from media outlets such as
"Public Eye" may soon force the GOL to come to terms with these
inconsistencies. END COMMENT.
MURPHY