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Lesotho, a small mountainous kingdom surrounded by South Africa, is one of the few countries in the world that has not yet confirmed a case of the new coronavirus that in recent months has collapsed economies, strained health systems and unleashed the worst global crisis in decades.
However, it was not without turbulence.
Plus:
For months, the country of 2.2 million people has been plagued by an extraordinary political drama that has caught Prime Minister Thomas Thabane amid pending questions about the murder of his previous wife.
On June 14, 2017, Lipolelo Thabane, 58, was shot dead at close range by unidentified attackers near his home.
Two days later, her then-separated husband was sworn in as Prime Minister of Lesotho. At the time of the murder, the couple was involved in a lengthy divorce.
In August 2017, two months after the murder, Thabane he married his third wife, Maesaiah Thabane.
Last February, Maesaiah was charged in connection with the murder and released on bail. The 80-year-old prime minister himself faced charges of acting for “common purpose” in the murder, but has not been charged.
In a court appearance in February, ThabaneThe lawyers argued that his position grants him immunity from prosecution, and since then the case has been referred to the Superior Court, which will sit as the Constitutional Court and has not yet heard the case.
Both Thabane and his wife have denied any involvement in the Lipolelo murder.
The saga has plunged Lesotho into an ever deeper crisis.
Following intense criticism from his own party, the All Basotho Convention (ABC), the prime minister announced on February 20 that he would resign on July 31 if “all necessary preparations for my retirement are completed.”
However, political opponents, including some members of the ABC, want him to leave now.
In a new twist, Lesotho’s capital Maseru woke up on Saturday to find soldiers patrolling the streets. Thabane said in a televised speech that the troops were sent to “restore order” against unidentified “rebel national elements”. Police authorities said the army was deployed to intimidate them.
The soldiers were withdrawn on Sunday, but tension and uncertainty remained in one country. with a long history of coups and military involvement in its often fragile politics.
The deployment followed a ruling by the Constitutional Court on Friday against Thabane’s decision in March to suspend Parliament for three months over the coronavirus pandemic.
The court ruling clears the way for what appears to be an inevitable vote of mistrust against the prime minister.
“The no confidence vote hangs over your head and involves a large part of your party,” said Hoolo ‘Nyane, head of the Department of Public and Environmental Law at the University of Limpopo in South Africa.
Moletsane Monyake, a political scientist in Lesotho, called Thabane’s decision to send the army onto the streets “unfortunate.”
“It was a sign of a man holding on to straws, who is running out of options politically and who is also desperate to hold on to power,” Monyake, a professor at Lesotho National University, told Al Jazeera.
Faced with the prospect of a distrust vote and with little room for political maneuvering, “Thabane’s next option was to try to intimidate his perceived political opponent,” Monyake said.
“And so he did to basically tell whoever challenged him that he now has the military and can actually wreak havoc.”
In an effort to ease tensions, South Africa over the weekend sent an official delegation to Lesotho for high-level talks.
In a statement Monday, mediators said they had agreed with the coalition government and other stakeholders to guarantee a “dignified, elegant and safe retirement” for Thabane.
No other details were released, but Jeff Radebe, the special envoy who heads the South African delegation, told reporters in Maseru that “the timetable is immediate” for the departure from Thabane.
But the Prime Minister replied. “The people I don’t report to (are) setting the time for my departure,” Lesotho Times said Thursday, as quoted as saying.
“They have no right to do it.”
Thabane first served as prime minister between 2012 and February 2015, when a split within the coalition government led to an early general election.
The succeeding government, led by Pakalitha Mosisili of the Democratic Congress party, was also shaken by divisions.
Mosilili lost a vote of mistrust and Thabane returned to power after the February 2017 election as the leader of an ABC-led coalition that was backed by three smaller political parties.
Following the “dignified retirement” deal, opponents say the prime minister’s departure in distress will end the political instability that has paralyzed Lesotho as it struggles with widespread poverty and unemployment.
Still, Monyake warned that “there are many political and legal problems that must be resolved before the agreement can be implemented.”
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