Cyril Ramaphosa back from Lesotho
SADC facilitator and South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday concluded a successful working visit to Maseru where he received and welcomed three former exiled Lesotho opposition leaders back to the Kingdom of Lesotho, the presidency said.
The three leaders, former prime minister and leader of the All-Basotho Convention Tom Thabane, former minister Theselle Maseribane, and Keketso Rantsho, leader of the Reformed Congress of Lesotho, were welcomed at a function held at the Avani Lesotho Hotel earlier on Sunday, Ramaphosa’s spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said.
Their return to Lesotho was the culmination of efforts and decisions of the SADC double troika summit of heads of state and government held in Gaborone, Botswana, in 2016, which mandated Ramaphosa to facilitate the return of the three leaders to Lesotho, he said.
The visit on Sunday followed a working visit to Lesotho on Friday to assess progress regarding constitutional and security sector reforms and implementation of recommendations of the Phumaphi Commission of Inquiry.
In this context, Ramaphosa paid a courtesy call on King Letsie III, Prime Minister Phakalitha Mosisili, government coalition partners, church and NGO sector leaders, as well as representatives of the College of Chiefs.
SADC remained committed to work with all stakeholders to ensure the stabilisation of the political and security situation in Lesotho and had committed itself to second experts to assist the country as it embarked on constitutional and security sector reforms, Mamoepa said.