Currently taking refuge in South Africa, he told BBC that his life was in danger.
According to reports, the capital, Maseru, is now calm after soldiers seized buildings although the army denied staging a coup.
Thabane said the army had rendered the government “dysfunctional”, an action that amounted to a coup.
He said: “I have been removed from control not by the people but by the armed forces, and that is illegal. I came into South Africa this morning and I will return as soon as my life is not in danger. I will not go back to Lesotho to get killed.”
The army, it was learnt, acted after the prime minister attempted to remove its head, Lt Gen Kennedy Tlai Kamoli.
Reuters reports that the army held that General Kamoli was still in charge and that the military “supports the democratically elected government of the day”.
According to a BBC report, troops were earlier seen on the streets of Maseru and there were reports of gunfire.
Sports Minister Thesele Maseribane told the AFP news agency that troops seized control of the tiny police headquarters and jammed radio stations and phones in the early hours on Saturday.
He also said “The commander said he was looking for me, the prime minister and the deputy prime minister to take us to the king. In our country, that means a coup”
Lesotho is a tiny kingdom in Southern Africa and has a population of about two million. It gained independence from South Africa in 1966.
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