Lekhanya queries army training in SA

MASERU -- The Lesotho government did not consult or inform the commander-in-chief of the Lesotho Defence Force, King Letsie III, about its decision to send the country's soldiers to South Africa for retraining courses, an opposition party spokesman said.

Major-General Justin Metsing Lekhanya, leader of the Basotholand National Party, told a press conference that his party would not stand by like passive observers while the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy "undertakes this action without parliamentary approval".

Lekhanya, a former military ruler of the kingdom, appealed to the "mothers and fathers of the Basotho soldiers, who have not been consulted by the government, to resist this move".

Following a request by the Lesotho government, South African troops in September last year crossed the border into Lesotho to suppress a possible military uprising by Lesotho soldiers and to maintain law and order as thousands of angry Maseru residents burnt and looted shops and business premises in the capital.

Lekhanya said payments by the Lesotho government to South Africa for the continued presence of its soldiers should stop immediately, adding that he could not fathom how a nation could be invaded at the request of one man and then be expected to pay for the invading force's expenses. -- Sapa-DPA