A supporting affidavit submitted by the guard named Mashoai Tanki, shows that on June 17 around 5:20am,   six armed men entered the Metcash Building from the Mpilo Road. The men who were clad in black outfits also wore bullet-proof vest and balaclava heads, he says. “When they entered the building, they pointed their guns at us and ordered us not to move or take any action,” he says. The men he says told them that they were not there to engage them but they wanted to open the ABC offices.

“One of the men took out a ‘huge pair of medal scissors’ and cut the heavy chain that was securing the door to the office. They also took a drilling machine and tried to remove the lock where the key was located. But they failed to unlock or remove the lock.” Tanki says the men then tried to force the door open but they could not and eventually they abandoned the mission and they left the door alone. He says two of them left in a vehicle while the remaining four stayed behind to keep an eye on them and the offices. He says while they were still waiting, their colleagues (new guards) who were supposed to assume duty and relief them arrived.

The new arrivals he says were not aware that the men in black were not from their own security company, so they requested them to make a report for a hand over. The armed men he says also held the new guards hostage, but later released him (Tanki) while keeping the new arrivals under duress. “I was then able to rush to our office to report that there was an attempted break-in at the ABC offices where I was stationed,” he says. In her submission, Advocate Hlaele further accused Thabane of orchestrating the alleged attempted burglary. “He is going about inciting his armed bodyguards to commit crimes and if he is not stopped, there will be no peace in this country,” the court heard.

Hlaele also charged: “The leader is engaging in the kind of conduct that is likely to bring bloodshed.” She said following the armed confrontation between the two opposing factions of ABC, the heads of the three state security organs, (Lesotho Mounted Police Service, Lesotho Defence Force and the National Security Service) instead of enforcing the law, made a joint statement; hence why the applicants have asked the court to intervene. The applicants among others have asked the court to interdict Thabane from taking unilateral decisions and interfering with the affairs of the ABC without the involvement of the full contingent of the NEC. They also want Thabane’s decision to fire them from the party to be set aside as null and void. When the court resumed after the lunch break yesterday, Advocate Rethabile Setlojoane who represents the respondents in the matter was supposed to make his own submissions.