Kamoli rubbishes crown claims he fabricated communication with Thabane

• As the erstwhile army commander continues his testimony before High Court

Former Lesotho Defense Force (LDF) Commander, Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli this week, rebuffed the Crown’s claim that he lied when he alleged that former Prime Minister Motsoahae Thomas Thabane instructed his army to join forces with the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) to investigate explosive attacks at Moshoeshoe II and Ha-Abia, in Maseru on January 27, 2014.

The attacks targeted the home of Liabiloe Ramoholi (who later married Thabane and became First Lady ‘Maesaiah Thabane) in Moshoeshoe II and the residence of then Police Commissioner Khothatso Tšooana in Ha-Abia. The bombings sent shockwaves across the nation.

In his testimony, Lt-Gen Kamoli told the High Court that the prime minister had instructed him, following the bombings incident, to work with his counterpart “novice”, Police Commissioner Khothatšo Tšooana, to establish an LDF/LMPS joint-team to investigate circumstances surrounding the ordeal.

But the prosecutor, Advocate Motene Rafoneke challenged this testimony, arguing it defied logic for the PM to issue such an instruction to the army, instead of the police. Kamoli, therefore, must have fabricated that, Adv. Rafoneke alleged.

According to Rafoneke, no PM would issue such a conflicted instruction. He said all criminal investigations, including those concerning national security, were solely police’ responsibility, “by law, the police are vested with criminal investigations work. It is not true, and you (Kamoli) know it that you fabricated this evidence about how you received an instruction from the PM to work with the police.”

Rafoneke argued the army had interfered with police’ work, “not because there was an instruction from the prime minister for a joint operation”. He insinuated that Kamoli had his private vendetta in meddling in police work.

Kamoli has, however, rubbished all what was said by Rafoneke, reiterating Dr Thabane had instructed him telephonically, “saying I should assist Commissioner Tšooana whom he said was a novice.”

Requested to provide proof of his communication with the PM, Kamoli answered he had his voice to tell the court that he had communicated with the prime minister, and no other proof.

The trial, presided over by Justice Charles Hungwe, sees Kamoli and several army members – Sergeant Pitso Ramoepana, Second Lieutenant Litekanyo Nyakane, Corporal Heqoa Malefane, and Lance Corporal Mohlalefi Seitlheko –facing charges of attempted murder and malicious damage to property. Kamoli also faces an additional charge of obstruction of justice.

Kamoli further testified that after the bombing incident, he was invited to a National Security Committee meeting convened by the committee’s chairman, then Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing. Also present were the then Director General of the National Security Service (NSS), Mohlakala Lerotholi, and Cabinet Ministers Thesele ‘Maseribane and Molobeli Soulo. Kamoli told the court that all members were present except Tšooana.

Instead of attending himself, Kamoli said, Tšooana had instructed Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Masupha Masupha to attend on his behalf.

The members were not happy with Tšooana’s behaviour, which Kamoli said they described as “undermining and disrespecting” the chairman of the Committee and Deputy Prime Minister Metsing.

Kamoli said Metsing dismissed Masupha from the meeting, stating that he had invited Tšooana, not Masupha.

“He wanted Tšooana, not Masupha, in that meeting,” Kamoli told the court.

Shortly thereafter, Kamoli said, Lerotholi received a call from the then Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, David Sehloho.

“Sehloho told Lerotholi that the Director General of NSS should not have attended the meeting because they had already established that it was Honourable Metsing and I who were involved in the bombing attacks at Moshoeshoe II and Ha-Abia,” Kamoli said.

He said all members were surprised by the revelation. Kamoli also testified that PS Sehloho had confessed that he was the one who instructed Tšooana not to attend the meeting because it had been convened by the suspects in the bombing attacks.

Kamoli said he contacted Tšooana the following day to request an update on the investigations relating to the bombings. He expressed surprise when the police commissioner told him that they had already made progress with the assistance of the South African Police Service (SAPS) experts.

Kamoli said he was surprised because the police were supposed to conduct the investigations together with the army, as had been instructed by Prime Minister Thabane.

The trial continues before Justice Hungwe in the High Court.

The January 27, 2014 attacks occurred during one of the most turbulent periods in Lesotho’s coalition government, formed after the 2012 general election.

Prime Minister Thabane’s coalition administration, which included the All Basotho Convention (ABC), Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) led by Deputy Prime Minister Metsing, and the Basotho National Party (BNP) led by ‘Maseribane, had become deeply divided over governance and control of the country’s security institutions.

Relations between LDF, under Lieutenant General Kamoli, and the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS), led by Commissioner Tšooana, had deteriorated sharply.

Tensions were fueled by allegations of political interference, rivalry between the military and police, and competing loyalties within the coalition government.

The bombings intensified an already volatile political and security crisis that culminated months later in the suspension of Parliament, the attempted removal of Kamoli as army commander, and the August 30, 2014, military operation that forced Prime Minister Thabane to flee temporarily to South Africa, the subsequent Southern African Development Community (SADC)-brokered Maseru Facilitation Process, and the snap general election of February 2015.

Kamoli has been in remand prison since 2017 on multiple charges. The trial, which has been running intermittently for several years before the High Court, forms part of a broader series of criminal proceedings arising from Lesotho’s political and security instability between 2014 and 2017, a period that prompted repeated interventions by SADC and ultimately the establishment of the regional commission of inquiry led by Justice Mpaphi Phumaphi of Botswana.

Lekhetho Makhanya

I am a journalist based in Maseru, Lesotho, renowned for investigative reporting. Over the years, my work has been published both locally and internationally, including in South Africa through the Amabhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism and the Daily Maverick, among other publications.

In Lesotho, I have served as a senior reporter for several leading weekly newspapers, including the Lesotho Times, Public Eye, and Sunday Express. My reporting has focused on uncovering issues of public interest, promoting accountability, and giving voice to underreported stories.

In 2016, I co-founded the MNN Centre for Investigative Journalism in Maseru, an initiative dedicated to strengthening investigative journalism and fostering a culture of transparency and public-interest reporting in Lesotho.