His office says Ramaphosa will be back in Maseru later this week.

During his fourth visit heading the SADC facilitation team, Cyril Ramaphosa saw King Letsie III and prime minister Tomas  Thabane.

He also had meetings with  deputy prime minister Mothejoa Metsing, European Union  ambassador Michael Doyle and members of the Independent Election Commission.

He’ s in the business of restoring stability to Lesotho in terms of the Maseru Facilitation Declaration.

This was signed by Lesotho’s main political players following an August 30 coup attempt that forced  Thabane to seek shelter in South Africa.

The region pushed  for the reconvening of Lesotho’s parliament last Friday to pass the country’s budget and prepare for the holding of early elections next February.

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He’s arriving as the police force in the mountain kingdom investigates some of its own officers for their possible role in an attempted military coup a month ago that left one of their colleagues dead.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit as SADC’s facilitator’s designed to get Lesotho’s political and other role players talking.

He’s backed by a regional team from Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana.

The police probe into the attempted coup on August 30 – that sent Prime Minister Thomas Thabane into a brief exile in South Africa – has become a wider treason and
murder inquiry, indicating it may be broader and more intricately planned than first thought.

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Police and military in the mountain kingdom exchanged gunfire yesterday in the hours before Ramaphosa saw political actors.

Leaving Lesotho yesterday, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was encouraged by the deep sense of patriotism of the people and their determination to find a solution to the political and security crisis within the SADC guidelines.

This will entail shortening the mandate of parliament, that’s been suspended since June, and having early elections.

Violence continues to rock the capital Maseru where police and military exchanged gunfire.

They’ve been at loggerheads since renegade general Tlali Kamoli attempted a coup on August 30 before fleeing into the mountains with weapons stolen from the government armoury.

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His interaction with members of the Coalition Government and other political role-players is aimed at finding a solution to Lesotho’s political and security crisis.

Lesotho’s political leaders left SADC’s summit in Pretoria on Monday charged with naming a date for early elections.

They couldn’t agree on when to reassemble the suspended parliament.

So the elections scheduled for 2016 are being expedited.

Ramaphosa will be looking for a date for them

He’ll also be arranging a deal with renegade general Tlali Kamoli to end his mutiny which is undermining security in the kingdom.

Sources say this will probably involve a cash payment and appointment to an ambassadorial post.

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