Mohloai Mpesi
The Lesoth0 Defence Force (LDF)’s Major General Ramanka Mokaloba warned politicians to desist from the habit of interfering with the affairs of the army by luring them with money and money promises if they do their dirty work for them.
Mokaloba talked tough on the security in the country this week during the National Reforms Authority (NRA)’s workshop at Convention Centre in Maseru.
He said the security of the country includes protection of human rights, freedom of people to live without fear, charging that the politicians run to the soldiers to fight their political battles and need to stop using their army members as that contributes to the country’s instability.
“There is this issue that soldiers and police officers should refrain from participating in politics but which is not practical because when politicians come across difficulties they run to the security sector. That is because their political deeds have overburdened them to extend where even they are unable to negotiate and solve their problems,” Mokaloba said.
“It is at this point where they resort to violence and eye individuals in the army to fight their own battles. So politicians need not to interfere with the security sector. These reforms need to be tightened so that the politicians don’t have a way of interfering with security institutions,” he said.
“The targeted individuals are promised high ranks, and one would imagine what a sergeant would do at a position of Major General, that’s dangerous, it’s a time-bomb because that person is going to be dangerous to the public and even to that politician who hired him will be afraid of him,” he said, adding that the blanket gangsters who are on killing spree can be stopped.
“The long and unending killings of blankets gangsters will end if we really want to end it, we can work with someone inside their crews to leak information to us because if nothing is done, they are going to turn into terrorists because they are still gathering armoury which they will use against the public and Lesotho will soon look like Mozambique,” he said.
The five-day NRA workshop which ends today was conducted to produce a draft roadmap for the development of the National Security Policy and Strategies of Lesotho.
Among other security institutions which were present at the event were the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS), Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS) as well as National Security Service (NSS).
Some of the objectives of a National Security polity and strategies are to provide a shared vision for security that is generated through multi-stakeholder consultation. To make a thorough analysis of all threats to state and human security based on the input of all stakeholders.
To also provide an opportunity to address internal and external security challenges in a single document.
