Lesotho drops charges against former PM Thabane, wife

Lesotho drops charges against former PM Thabane, wife

The government of Lesotho announced Tuesday that it has dropped charges against former prime minister Tom Thabane and his wife, Maesiah, in connection with the murder of Thabane’s former wife, Lipolelo Thabane. The Lesotho Times reports that lead prosecutor Gareth Leppan withdrew the charges because a key witness in the…

Lesotho PM Thabane resigns amid murder allegations

Lesotho PM Thabane resigns amid murder allegations

Prime Minister Tom Thabane of Lesotho resigned on Tuesday, making good on public statements he’s made for weeks that promised he’d step down before summer amid allegations he is implicated in the 2017 murder of his former wife. Moeketsi Majoro, the country’s finance minister, is expected to be sworn in…

Lesotho bids farewell to SADC peacekeeping mission

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) peacekeeping mission in Lesotho has come to an end, with ceremonies on Tuesday that marked the closing of the mission. The event included a parade and awards ceremony, attended by dignitaries including South African Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who was representing President Cyril Ramaphosa….

Troubling trends in Thabane’s Lesotho

There are ominous trends in Lesotho, where Prime Minister Tom Thabane has vowed to implement long-delayed reforms but finds himself mired in internecine political battles that add to the small southern African kingdom’s instability. Last week, defense minister Sentje Lebona resigned – the second minister to do so, and one…

SAPMIL won’t stay as Lesotho pressured on reforms

In Lesotho, the Southern African Development Community’s peacekeeping forces will leave in November as planned despite the appeals from Prime Minister Tom Thabane for a three-month extension. The SAPMIL force has served a year in Lesotho, which includes a previous extension of an original mandate that ran through May. The…

SADC extends SAPMIL’s peacekeeping role in Lesotho

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has extended the mandate of the Preventive Mission in Lesotho (SAPMIL) peacekeeping troops from May until November 2018, the 16-nation body said in a communiqué released Tuesday. The SADC decision came during a summit in the Angolan capital of Luanda attended by Prime Minister Tom…

SADC peacekeeper chief says Lesotho is making progress

The Angolan leader of a peacekeeping operation deployed to Lesotho in late November by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said he’s pleased with the progress to date. Matias Bertino Matondo, head of Preventive Mission in Lesotho (SAPMIL), told Angop that the political climate was tense when he arrived with…

Delayed SADC peacekeeper mission in Lesotho to begin Saturday

A delayed peacekeeping operation in Lesotho is set for an official deployment launch on Saturday, according to the Southern African Development Community. The SADC said forces from neighboring countries continued to arrive head of the deadline, which was originally set for November 1 but changes to the mission, including the…

SADC begins sending peacekeepers to Lesotho ahead of Nov. 1 deadline

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…