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- The opposition in Lesotho was blocked by a court interdict from tabling a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Sam Matekane's coalition government.
- Matekane said it was selfish politicians bent on derailing reforms in the mountain kingdom who want him out.
- Until 30 October, when the matter will be heard before the courts, parliamentary business will be suspended.
A constitutional amendment clipping the executive's powers passed in 2020 could come back to bite Lesotho's Prime Minister, billionaire Sam Matekane, who has been in office for just over a year.
Matekane on Monday dodged a parliamentary debate in which a vote of no confidence was set to be tabled on his leadership by the main opposition, the Democratic Congress (DC).
In a last-minute rush, the government approached the courts, challenging the section of the amendment to the constitution under which the motion was proposed.
The case will be heard on 30 October and, until then, parliament will remain paralysed and major diaries such as the budget will be deferred, sources told News24.
In an address to the nation on Monday, Matekane said: "I warn you that the practice here that eats governments is back."
Matekane claimed his government was under attack prematurely.
"We came into power in October 2022, and we are embarking on a major task to restore the confidence and dignity of the country for the sake of national development, economic growth, protection, and empowerment of the nation, but the main goal is to fulfil the main points of re-election (national reforms) and to build the dignity of Lesotho that the Basotho want.
"Much of this work is entrusted to the House of Commons. Unfortunately, there has been no convincing text on the fulfilment of this great responsibility until now," he said.
Matekane bemoaned that any chance he had at moving society forward was being derailed by selfish politicians whom he accused of using the law to misdirect progress.
Matekane said:
He vowed that his government would fight for what he called the country's peace, security and stability.
"We promise you that we as the government will do everything in our responsibility and in our power to preserve peace and stability for you, even to work to achieve progress in matters of re-election, and also to restore the dignity of Lesotho, which has been affected for a long time by this unacceptable behaviour, and it is unacceptable," he said
Lesotho's law and politics
Since the introduction of coalition politics in Lesotho, successive prime ministers have fallen under the same predicament Matekane finds himself in.
If the motion passes, it will be the third time within a decade that a sitting prime minister will fight for his position.
According to the Southern African Legal Information Institute, a private member's bill was signed into law by King Letsie III in May 2020.
The ninth amendment to the country's constitution since 1993 was a result of a protracted debate that began in October 2019 when the National Assembly approved a resolution to modify the constitution to limit the prime minister's powers in the event that a successful motion of no confidence against them was passed.
At the time, there was a general consensus among lawmakers and the general public that the move would stabilise the legislature and spare the nation the expense of holding what had become regular snap elections.
Three elections had taken place between 2012 and 2017 when this occurred.
After losing the trust of the National Assembly, the prime minister recommended early elections, which were held in 2015 and 2017.
Due to the passage of the Ninth Amendment, the then-prime minister, Thomas Thabane, who had lost the National Assembly's confidence, resigned on 19 May 2020, in the context that he could no longer advise the king to dismiss parliament when he had lost the trust of the house.
The same could happen to Matekane if the opposition gets its way with the law.
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Matekane's Revolution for Prosperity (RFP), formed in March last year, won 56 seats in the 120-member parliament in September of that year, but fell short of the required majority.
In Lesotho, 80 seats are chosen through a "first-past-the-post" voting system, while the remaining 40 seats are distributed using proportional representation, in which parties are given seats depending on the total number of votes they receive nationwide.
Matekane joined forces with fringe parties - namely the Alliance of Democrats (AD) and the Movement for Economic Change (MEC) - that gave him nine seats to secure a parliamentary majority needed to form a government.
With 65 seats, Matekane and his partners have a slim majority in parliament.
The leader of AD, Monyane Moleleki, was the deputy prime minister from June 2017 to May 2020.
Selibe Mochoboroane, the leader of MEC, is a former development planning minister in the last government led by the All Basotho Convention.
However, their depth in politics, which is greater than that of first-time politician Matekane, might fail to rescue his government because, according to the Lesotho Constitution: "Unlike the motion to remove the Speaker of the National Assembly, which requires the support of two-thirds of the House, the motion of no confidence in the government does not need a particular majority. It can be passed by an ordinary majority."
Mathibeli Mokhothu, the leader of the DC, is in parliament with 29 seats. Working with other fringe parties, they can raise up to 63 seats, enough to upset Matekane.
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.
