Machesetsa Mofomobe is expected to quiz Prime Minister Sam Matekane in parliament next week if he intends to deploy Lesotho troops to protect his personal business interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Mofomobe’s question was filed in parliament on Tuesday and Matekane is expected to answer during the normal question and answer session on Tuesday next week.
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“I want to ask if the Prime Minister has business interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo and if so, what type of business,” Mofomobe’s question reads.
He also wants Matekane to answer if he is planning to send the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) contingent to the DRC under the SADC, African Union, and the United Nations “to the area where his business interests are”.
He also wants to know which countries Matekane visited while on sick leave in the past weeks, and whether he went there in his capacity as the Prime Minister or as an ordinary Mosotho businessman.
Mofomobe told thepost yesterday that he strongly suspects that Matekane has mining interests in the DRC adding that he will “not allow him to send our army to go and guard his mines there”.
“The army belongs to Basotho,” he said.
Government spokesman Thabo Sekonyela said Mofomobe “is not telling the truth”.
Sekonyela said Matekane could not send the army to go to the DRC to guard his privately owned businesses even if he wanted to.
He accused Mofomobe of “simplifying security matters”.
“It is surprising that the government is being accused of sending the army abroad to guard someone’s private business interests,” Sekonyela said.
“It is also surprising that when the past government sent the LDF to Mozambique no one was accused of using the national army to guard their own private businesses there,” he said.
Sekonyela argued that the previous government had agreed with other SADC countries to send the army to Mozambique because of the need at regional level, it should be so understood with the issue of DRC.
He said Matekane is a Mosotho business leader who has rights to set up businesses anywhere, including in the DRC, but “he cannot send the army to Congo to safeguard his businesses”.
“His businesses are personal,” he said.
Lesotho last year deployed five officers to the DRC in what was said was a move to help with logistics in preparation for a larger contingent that was going to be deployed there.
At the time, Foreign Affairs Minister Lejone Mpotjoane told parliament that Lesotho would help solve problems in the DRC but avoided addressing swirling rumours that the soldiers were being sent to prepare for a larger LDF contingent.
The decision by SADC countries to deploy armies in the DRC was reached at a summit in Angola earlier last year to arrest the activities of the destructive March 23 Movement.
The March 23 Movement, often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, is a rebel military group that is mostly made up of ethnic Tutsis.
It is composed of former members of the rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) and allegedly sponsored by the governments of the neighbouring states of Rwanda and Uganda.
Rwanda and Uganda have both denied the charges.
The M23’s gripe is that the DRC government reneged on its promise of March 23, 2009, of making CNDC part of the national defence force.
The rebels ended up taking up arms against the national army that led to neighbouring countries like Rwanda intervening.
Nkheli Liphoto
