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Lesotho’s embattled prime minister told AFP that he intends to surrender his resignation on Wednesday, a move that could help resolve a long-standing political crisis in the small kingdom.
Thomas Thabane, 80, who is facing possible prosecution for the murder of his ex-wife, told AFP in a telephone interview on Tuesday that he will retire due to old age.
Thabane and his then-wife Lipolelo Thabane, 58, were going through a bitter divorce when she was shot to death outside her home two days before her husband’s inauguration in 2017.
The police have since found Thabane’s mobile phone number in crime scene communications records, prompting rivals within his party to demand his immediate resignation.
He appeared briefly in court in February on charges of acting for “common purpose” in the murder, but was not formally charged and the matter has yet to be decided.
READ | Lesotho Prime Minister confirms plans to withdraw before July 31
Thabane, whose five-year term runs until 2022, said he felt ready to go and was tying up loose ends to make sure his retirement was “as easy as possible.”
His coalition government was dissolved this week, and parliament will meet on May 22 to form a new government and to appoint a new prime minister.
Thabane’s All Basotho (ABC) Convention nominated Finance Minister Moeketsi Majoro as its successor.
Thabane must inform King Letsie III, the traditional supreme leader of the southern African kingdom, of his intention to resign.
“I will have to go and inform him that I am leaving,” Thabane said. “Normally I would say ‘fine.'”
The prime minister said he expected to send the letter on Wednesday, but did not give a precise date to resign.
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