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- Lesotho's prime minister told the SADC that greedy politicians wanted him out.
- The country's Constitutional Court is set to hear the validity of a vote of no confidence next week.
- Civil society condemned the military's involvement in political developments in Lesotho.
Lesotho Prime Minister Sam Matekane notified the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that "selfish" politicians were plotting his ouster.
He did so via a letter addressed to the SADC's chairperson, Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema, who is also the chairperson of the regional bloc's Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
Matekane said "political uncertainties" existed due to a motion of no confidence submitted by the Democratic Congress (DC), the largest opposition party, with backing from smaller parties.
"It is evident that the motion of no confidence in question is motivated by greed, selfishness and the desire to subvert our democratic norms and principles," he said in the letter.
READ | Lesotho's prime minister dodges debate on his removal, but his govt is now paralysed
The vote of no confidence was subsequently stopped on 16 October, with a court interdict.
The interdict suspended parliamentary business, including the national budget.
This action is a result of a 2020 constitutional revision that limited the executive branch's authority, and it may have compromised Matekane's capacity to survive the parliamentary challenge.
The matter will be heard before the Constitutional Court on 30 October.
The SADC appointed President Cyril Ramaphosa to facilitate the Lesotho Multi-Stakeholder National Dialogue on the "Lesotho We Want", a road map to bring the country back to democracy through electoral reforms.
Ahead of the 7 October 2022 polls, which brought Matekane into power, Lesotho had failed to pass the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution Act 2022 (Omnibus Bill) during Parliament's regular sitting.
These collective laws were meant to avert political instability.
When Matekane came into office, he promised to push ahead with the outstanding issues.
However, with his job on the line, he told the SADC that the country was going back to its previous bad years.
"You will recall, Your Excellency, that during the 43rd Summit of Heads of States and Government of the SADC, which was held in Luanda, Republic of Angola, on the 17th of August 2023, I provided an update on the political and security situation in the Kingdom of Lesotho, as well as the progress we made on the endeavour to finalise the comprehensive reform process.
"Given the prevailing circumstances, all these positive strides are all in vain," he said.
In his bid to stay on, Matekane roped in the military, police and state security arms.
The line commanders declared that the vote of no confidence in Matekane's government had no place in Lesotho.
The security forces were then condemned by civil society and the Law Society of Lesotho, and urged to stay away from civilian politics.
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Addressing the 77th session of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) in Arusha, Tanzania, this week, Lesotho's Transformation Resource Centre (TRC) said the situation was dire in the country.
The civic group called for the security forces to step back.
"TRC holds that the heads of the security institutions cannot decree what politicians should or should not do in exercising their constitutional powers in Parliament," the TRC said in a statement presented at the ACHPR.
The group added:
"The interference also contravenes the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance adopted by African Union Member States, emphasising principles of the rule of law premised upon the respect for, and the supremacy of, the Constitution and constitutional order in the political arrangements."
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
