Prime Minister Thomas Thabane says respect for civilian authority has been restored in his forces.

The Southern African Development Community moved its security force into Maseru last December following the killing of army chief Khoantle Motsomotso by a rival group within the Lesotho defence force.

This followed two months after a snap election brought Prime Minister Thomas Thabane to power at the head of a coalition 

Two years earlier former army chief Maaparankoe Mahao was gunned down for allegedly resisting arrest.

SADC executive secretary Stergomena Tax says good progress has been made in  restoring security in Lesotho following a failed coup in 2014.

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She was speaking at the opening of a ministerial meeting  preparing for today regional summit on security in the mountain kingdom surrounded by South Africa.

President Jacob Zuma will host that summit of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community to be attended by the heads of state of Angola, Namibia, Swaziland,  Tanzania and Zambia.

His Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula says Lt General Khoantle Motsomotso’s untimely death underscores the importance of dealing effectively with with the persistent political and security challenges  embracing Lesotho.

“ Our determination to help the people of Lesotho lay to rest their political and security challenges should not be doubted, ” the minister says

She says SADC has the capacity and the the political will to beat rogue elements in Lesotho.

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South Africa troops have already been deployed to Lesotho to curb any attempt at a coup following the killing of army commander Khoantle Motsomotso by brother officers.

They’re being joined by troops from Angola, Mozambique and Namibia.

The military is playing its cards close to its chest regarding numbers.

The leaders of these four countries are expected at today’s summit Lesotho to formulate a plan of action in Lesotho to obviate the need to have their soldiers’ boots on the ground in the mountain kingdom in the long term.

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A ministerial mission from the region will arrive there tomorrow to gauge the best response to this development.

From China, where he’s attending the BRICS summit, President Jacob Zuma sends his condolences to the family and friends of Lieutenant General Khoantle Motsomotso.

He was gunned down by an army officer who’d recently been fired.

Zuma notes that two years ago the then army chief  Lieutenant General Maaparankoe Mahao was killed.

Lesotho premier Thomas Thabane, who was returned to power in June’s elections after being ousted in a coup three years ago promised that his country would no longer be the bad boy of  SADC.

He may have spoken too soon.

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Premier Thomas Thabane says everything in the mountain kingdom is under control.

SADC didn’t mince its words about the killing of Lieutenant General Khoantle Motsomotso, calling it an inexcusable, barbaric and heinous act.

The regional body is sending a fact-finding mission to Lesotho to avert the possibility of a further deterioration of security.

There’ve been no reported arrests after the killing of Motsomotso and two officers guarding him.

The killers are believed to have been shot down by troops as they tried to escape the military compound where the attack took place.

Dependent on Lesotho’s water flowing into Gauteng, South Africa’s expected to play a key role in restoring order in the kingdom it surrounds.

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Defence Minister Sentile Lebona has confirmed the death.

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Lesotho’s army commander was shot dead at his home by rival military officers, according to officials in the mountain kingdom.

Defence official Ramanka Mokaloba says in addition to Lieutenant General Khoantle Motsomotso’s death, one soldier was killed during the attack and another injured.

A press conference is scheduled to be held later in the day.

Lesotho has been beset by power struggles and concerns about military interference in politics. The country has seen a number of high-profile assassinations, including the 2015 killing of a former army chief.

Prime Minister Thomas Thabane  won elections in June, returning him to power three years after he fled Lesotho because of fears he was an assassination target.

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