Maaparankoe Mahao (27 January 1968 in Thaba-Tseka – 25 June 2015 near Mokema, Maseru District) was a Mosotho lieutenant general. His appointment as commander of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) in 2014 and the resultant refusal of his predecessor, Kennedy Tlali Kamoli to evacuate the post, ignited a season of political instability in Lesotho. After Kamoli's return to the post, Mahao was murdered by soldiers under suspicious circumstances.
Life
Mahao was born the sixth of seven children. His father was a public servant and a socialist. Maaparankoe Mahao attended Mokema Primary School from 1976 and St. Joseph's High School in Maseru from 1982. He joined the Lesotho Patriotic Youth Organisation (LPYO), which opposed the ruling military government under General Justin Metsing Lekhanya. At the National University of Lesotho he earned a Bachelor of Law in 1992 and an LL.B. in 1994. He was President of the Committee for Action and Solidarity for South African Students (CASSAS) as well as President of the Students' Representative Council (SRC). He co-founded the Lesotho Youth Federation and in 1990/1991 was one of the founding members of the Popular Front for Democracy (PFD), of which he was a member until his death in 2014.
Joining the LDF
Mahao joined the Lesotho Defence Force in 1996 as a lawyer. His task was to professionalise the armed forces and in 1998 he was promoted to the rank of captain. That same year, he married 'Mamphanya Mahao, with whom he had three sons. From 2002 to 2007 he served as the Commander of the Special Forces and distinguished himself during the evacuation of the National Assembly after attacks. He was promoted to brigadier general and received the post of military attache in the Basotho embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 2012 he earned a Master of Peace Studies and Security in Africa from the University of Addis Ababa.
In 2008 he was made chief of staff of the Southern African Development Community Planning Department at the SADC headquarters in Gaborone, Botswana.
On 15 January 2014, Mahao was charged with indiscipline and "behaving in an unbecoming character of an officer, contrary to Section 75 of the Lesotho Defence Force Act 4, 1996" after reprimanding Commando Captain Tefo Hashatsi two days previously. Hashatsi had reportedly been inciting soldiers to rebel should a new commander be appointed, contrary to the law. Surprisingly, the event resulted in Mahao's suspension.
Events since 29 August 2014
On 29 August 2014, Mahao was promoted to lieutenant-general and appointed by Prime Minister Tom Thabane with the approval of King Letsie III to replace Tlali Kamoli as commander of the LDF. Kamoli had been dismissed for insubordination and refusing to hand over soldiers under his command accused of murder, attempted murder and robbery to the police. He refused to accept his demotion and remained in the post. Soldiers loyal to Kamoli carried out a series of attacks on police stations and high-ranking politicians' homes. Mahao's house was also peppered with bullets and his dog shot and killed, but he and the targeted politicians fled to South Africa, in what was widely deemed a coup- attempt by Kamoli. Pro- Kamoli soldiers claimed that Mahao could not legally be promoted to lieutenant-general, much less LDF commander, because he was still under suspension. The independent SADC commission of inquiry established under Botswana's Justice Mpaphi Phumaphi, would later deem Mahao's appointment by the Prime Minister as legal as the suspension had been quashed.
Even after his return, Mahao was prevented from entering the barracks due to the tense situation, thereby preventing him from formally taking office. Sections of the army remained under Kamoli's control. SADC was called in to negotiate between the two sides, resulting in the snap election of February 2015. Kamoli, Mahao and the chief of police, Khothatso Tsooana, were ordered to leave the country in order to preserve the peace. Mahao was sent to South Sudan, Tsooana to Algeria and Kamoli to South Africa, after various countries refused to accommodate Kamoli for his role in the attempted coup. The talks were led by Vice-President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.
The election resulted in a narrow win by the opposition and a 7-party coalition government was formed, led by Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili's Democratic Congress (DC). In April 2015, Mahao received a letter declaring his appointment as LDF commander as well as his promotion to lieutenant-general null and void. Tlali Kamoli was restored to post. Mahao went to court to fight his demotion.