Deputy President and SADC Facilitator Cyril Ramaphosa has been urgently sent to Lesotho to consult with Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili.

This follows fears of more political instability in the country after last week’s assassination of the army's former commander.

According to the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the decision was taken on Tuesday by President Jacob Zuma as the chairperson of the SADC organ on politics, defence and security cooperation.

The decision to deploy Ramaphosa was taken after three opposition party leaders fled the country and the killing of former Lesotho Defence Force commander Brigadier Maarparankoe Mahao, SADC said.

Lieutenant General Mahao, the former commander of the Lesotho Defense Force, was shot dead on Thursday in an exchange of gunfire that took place outside of Maseru between him and a group of soldiers who were on a mission to arrest him.

There have been previous unsuccessful attempts on his life. In August last year, gunmen attacked the Mahao's home in Maseru, exacerbating a struggle competing for control of the military, according to local media reports.

Zuma, in his SADC capacity, sent a ministerial organ fact finding mission to Lesotho on Friday to assess the latest political and security developments in the country.

“After receiving the report of the fact finding mission, Zuma has become more concerned about the apparent explosive security situation in Lesotho,” SADC said, resulting in the urgent deployment of Ramaphosa to Lesotho.

Zuma has condemned the killing of Mahao.

“This unfortunate and tragic incident threatens to undermine the Kingdom’s efforts towards the peaceful transition following the February 2015 elections,” said Zuma.

The President also reiterated the need for all stakeholders in the Kingdom of Lesotho to resolve their political differences through legal and peaceful processes and further reiterated the pressing need to expedite the process of establishing institutional and security reforms, as recommended by the SADC Double Troika Summit held in Pretoria, on 20 February 2015.