Peacekeeping troops are headed for Lesotho ahead of a November 1 deadline set by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for a 1,000-strong force to assist in stabilizing the small kingdom. The SADC peacekeepers include 250 members of the Namibian Defence Force, according to the country’s international relations minister. Netumbo…
The Southern African Development Community’s has decided to send 1,000 military, police and other personnel to stabilize the political situation in Lesotho, an effort expected to cost an estimated USD$6.7 million. Most of the budget for a mission approved Friday is devoted to security forces, while about 13 percent will…
In Lesotho, Prime Minister Tom Thabane said he was firmly in control of the nation as he confirmed the shooting death of the defense force commander in an episode with echoes of the political power struggle of recent years. Thabane held a press conference to discuss the Tuesday shooting of…
In early August, Prime Minister Tom Thabane of Lesotho promised that the small southern African kingdom would stop being the “bad boys” of the region and its 16-nation Southern African Development Community. “Enough is enough,” Thabane said, as he vowed to move forward with a framework for comprehensive reforms that…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
This weekend’s South African Development Community summit in Pretoria began Friday evening with the six Double Troika nations meeting to discuss political and security issues. The six countries – Tanzania, Angola, Mozambique, Swaziland and Botswana, as well as host South Africa – planned to discuss the situation in Democratic Republic…
The memorial service and burial for Lipolelo Thabane are planned for Friday in Lesotho, more than two weeks after the estranged wife of newly installed Prime Minister Thomas Thabane was shot dead at her home. The 58-year-old Lipolelo Thabane was killed on June 14, immediately prior to Thabane’s inauguration, in…
Eugene Linden, a prominent American author typically future-focused on science and climate trends, recently raised a few eyebrows with a take on global overpopulation that held the small African nation of Lesotho up as case study – or harbinger of doom, depending on perspective. Linden, in a June 15 opinion…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The estranged wife of new Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane has died on the eve of his inauguration, following a fatal shooting attack on the family. Local media reports said family members had confirmed the death of Lipolelo Thabane, who was shot while returning to her home. South African radio…
Voters in Lesotho have given former prime minister Thomas Thabane and the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party 48 parliamentary seats in elections held on June 3, according to the southern African nation’s Independent Electoral Commission. The commission released the results on Tuesday. The ABC also received the most votes, leaving…
Authorities in Lesotho have charged two men, including a prominent opposition party leader, in connection with a fatal shooting that happened during an April 2 dispute over a primary election amid the country’s latest political crisis. Thato Makara and Thuso Litjobo are in custody following a court hearing on Wednesday. Police…
Lesotho’s troubled political landscape saw a new turn toward violence over the weekend, with one man killed following a dispute over delegates for a primary election ahead of the country’s June 3 general elections. Thabiso Moqolo was shot during a fight that broke out at a meeting in the Maseru…
An aftershock earthquake that measured 5.0 magnitude on the Richter scale hit Botswana shortly before 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC). The United States Geological Survey (USGS) also measured the quake at a 5.0 magnitude, with an epicenter in the same location as Monday night’s…
The strong earthquake that hit Botswana on Monday night registered at a 6.5 magnitude on the Richter scale, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The quake struck shortly before 8 p.m. near Moiyabana in the rural east-central Ghanzi region of the country. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC)…
For more than 100 years, anthropologists and other scientists have studied the San people who live in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, with pockets in Angola, Lesotho, Zambia and other southern nations. Now, those scientists who want to study their culture, heritage and genes will need to abide by a code…
The two-day talks held by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) began Friday in Swaziland, with the focus of the extraordinary summit centered on the troubling political situation in Lesotho. Special envoy Cyril Ramaphosa traveled to the double troika summit with South African President Jacob Zuma to present a report on…