Maaparankoe Mahao
[1] He joined the Lesotho Patriotic Youth Organisation (LPYO), which opposed the ruling military government under General Justin Metsing Lekhanya.
[1] In 2008 he was made chief of staff of the Southern African Development Community Planning Department at the SADC headquarters in Gaborone, Botswana.
[1] 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.
[2] 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.
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.
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.
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).
According to the nephew's testimony and a letter written by Mahao's family to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other African leaders, his car was chased and stopped by three military vehicles.
A group of men, including one dressed as a soldier, carrying AK-47 rifles shot at Mahao from the driver's side of his truck.
[5][3] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement to condemn the murder of Mahao the following day, on 26 June 2015, and demanded a full investigation.
[8][9] The Ministry of Defence claimed that Mahao had been killed in a special operation to round-up suspected military mutineers "following a confrontation" with the soldiers.
"[10] Thousands of Basotho, including Queen Masenate, Chief Mathealira Seeiso (uncle of King Letsie III) and many employees of the National University of Lesotho, attended Mahao's funeral on 11 July in Mokema.
Local radio station Harvest FM was prevented from broadcasting the ceremony live to listeners, allegedly by the government.
On 14 December, Prime Minister Mosisili declared that the government would continue to refuse to receive the report until the High Court had settled a case by Lieutenant-Colonel Tefo Hashatsi, implicated in the assassination, challenging the legitimacy of the SADC inquiry.
In particular, they opposed the Amnesty Bill[16] introduced in the National Assembly in November 2016 that would grant impunity for all crimes committed by security forces between 2007 and 2015.
Professor Nqosa Mahao stated that "The Bill is a hardly veiled and cynical attempt by the government to protect and reward perpetrators of heinous crimes.
