Lesotho seeks SADC intervention amidst COVID-19 pandemic
Thalefang Charles | Friday April 24, 2020 16:15
This morning the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's Special Envoy to Lesotho, Jeff Radebe jetted into Gaborone to brief President Mokgweetsi Masisi in his capacity as the incoming chairperson of SADC’s Politics, Defence and Security organ about the Lesotho situation. Yesterday Radebe was in Harare, Zimbabwe to brief President Emerson Mnangagwa who is the current chairperson of the organ.
Embattled Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane last week surprisingly ordered the army to be deployed to restore law and order and to take action against individuals and institutions, which he said, were undermining the rule of law, his government and democracy.
Thabane, 80, is expected to resign soon, after the enactment of necessary legislation, that offered him 'a dignified, graceful and secure retirement'.
The Prime Minister has been under pressure to resign owing to a murder case in which he and his current wife are suspected have murdered his former wife.
Chief mediator Radebe, this morning told reporters in Gaborone after meeting president Masisi that he is ‘very hopeful’ about the state of affairs in Lesotho.
“We are very hopeful that the situation in Lesotho will be concluded as soon as possible. Last week the situation was little volatile with the deployment of troops in Maseru. The troops are now back in the barracks. We are very hopeful that the people of Lesotho will enjoy peace”, he stated.
Questioned on Thabane’s commitment to resign after newspaper reports that he will not keepi his word, Radebe said: “He [Thabane] had said he was intending to resign as Prime Minister in July/August or earlier depending on the parliamentary process of amending the constitution. Now that the National Assembly has passed that Constitutional amendment bill, we are now waiting for the Senate to convened in the next few days to finalise that parliamentary process”.
Radebe also said the situation warranted urgent attention and required “physical interaction with heads of state so that we have in-depth discussions without any possibility of interference” hence he travelled around despite coronavirus fears and travel bans.