The coalition of Lesotho’s PM, Thabane, fell apart on Monday in parliament. This brings an end to his tenure and paves the way for resolution to the political crisis destabilizing the country since late last year.
Sephiri Motanyane, the speaker of the National Assembly, declared the collapse of his governing majority. Also, he announced that Thabane, 80, has no other option than to step down by 22 May.
Besides, calls for the PM’s resignation has been coming for months over allegations that he and his current wife are responsible for the murder of his ex-wife. Maesaiah, Thabane’s current wife, has been charged, with Thabane also a culprit but no formal charge against him yet. However, they’ve both denied the allegations.
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Thabane had his signature in the list of people that consented to the dissolution of the government to form a new one.
Reporters asked Relebohile Moyeye, Thabane’s spokesman about his signature, in a telephone interview. He said, “I will not be able to answer on his part for things that happened in parliament, but the list was read in parliament, and he confirmed his name.”
Thabane wants immunity from trial
Meanwhile, the murder case is causing division in his party so much that it provokes sporadic unrest. Also, Thabane had a pre-trial hearing, and he insisted on immunity from prosecution. Due to this, many people feel he would attempt to insist on this before he leaves office.
Montoeli Masoetsa, the spokesman for Democratic Congress Party, spoke to Reuters on the phone. He said, “the prime minister’s prosecution … is not part of this deal at all; we are not even thinking of considering it.”
He added that it’s beyond their scope, and lies solely with the courts of the law.
Furthermore, the deputy chairman of Thabane’s party, All Basotho Convention (ABC) party is Sam Rapapa. He said the party has agreed on a replacement. The want Moeketsi Majoro, the finance minister, to replace him.
Rapapa also added that Thabane is merely a caretaker prime minister until the swearing in of a new prime minister on 22 May.
His resignation would bring peace to a politically unstable country. The country gained independence from Britain in 1966 and has witnessed several coups since then.
Members of ABC, mediators from South Africa, and opposition parties had all pressed Thabane to resign. More so, last week, King Letsie III assented to legislation. This had hindered the PM from dissolving the parliament and calling for an election in case they passed a vote of no confidence against him.
