Lesotho’s coalition government has agreed with South African mediators and political parties to implement a “dignified retirement” for Prime Minister Thomas Thabane. Thabane has been under pressure to resign due to a murder case in which he and his current wife are suspected of being involved in the death of his previous wife, Lipolelo Thabane, charges they have repeatedly denied. Thabane had pledged to step down at the end of July, but President Cyril Ramaphosa’s envoy to Lesotho, former minister Jeff Radebe, said in Maseru, that “the timeline is immediate”, for his leaving office. Ramaphosa dispatched the group of envoys to the tiny kingdom surrounded by SA to facilitate talks after Thabane deployed soldiers backed by armoured vehicles to “restore order” while accusing unnamed “rogue” law enforcement agencies of undermining democracy.
SOURCE: BUSINESS DAY LIVE