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Cape Town – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has reappointed Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to continue his mediation work in Lesotho, according to a report by the SABC.
The decision was made at the SADC Double Troika summit in Pretoria over the weekend.
The summit was held following the death of Lesotho’s former army chief Maaparankoe Mahao - an incident that has plunged the mountain kingdom into a fresh security crisis.
Mahao, who was aligned with former prime minister Tom Thabane, was allegedly shot and killed by members of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) in his village home on the outskirts of Maseru.
Commission of inquiry
South Africa will send pathologists, and Zimbabwe and Namibia will send investigators to probe Mahao's murder after the SADC Double Troika decided to establish a commission of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Mahao’s death.
Lesotho’s prime minister Pakalithi Mosisili was confident the solutions that came out of the summit would help Lesotho move forward.
"The summit has gone very well. It has addressed the issues and approved the way forward in terms of establishing a commission of inquiry which should come into Lesotho and inquire into a number of issues and give a report in 60 days," he said.
Watch the video below in which Pakalithi speaks.
Much would be expected from Ramaphosa’s renewed mediation after his intervention in 2014 led to the country's successful elections.
A report by the AFP said the SADC summit urged the Lesotho government to "urgently" undertake constitutional and security reforms.
The deteriorating security situation in Lesotho has seen three opposition leaders, including Thabane, fleeing the country as they feared for their lives.
Meanwhile, President Jacob Zuma has urged SADC to establish a regional parliament that would enable people to participate in tackling challenges faced by the region.
According to the SABC, Zuma said this while addressing officials from the region who are attending the 37th SADC Parliamentary Forum.
"The work that we have been doing in the DRC, Madagascar and other countries, if the regional representatives of the people are participating, I think we can do better than what we have done so far. So I think it is important,” he said.
SADC is currently tackling political problems in Lesotho, Madagascar and the DRC.
Watch as Zuma speaks.
