Staff Reporter THE Thomas Thabane-led government collapsed on Monday. This after all three of the four parties in the governing coalition including Mr Thabane’s All Basotho Convention (ABC) informed the speaker of parliament, Sephiri Motanyane, of their withdrawal from the coalition. In accepting the collapse of the government, Mr Motanyane then adjourned parliament until 22 […]
“I will leave office on my own terms and a time of my own choosing”, declares premier despite mounting pressure for him to quit now Pascalinah Kabi PRIME Minister Thomas Thabane has warned his political rivals that he is no pushover and will not allow anyone to stampede him into retiring earlier than his own […]
’Marafaele Mohloboli THE much-anticipated constitutional amendment bill which seeks to clip a prime minister’s powers to advise the King to dissolve parliament whenever he loses a no confidence vote to is set to be debated in the senate tomorrow. This was said by senate deputy president Tšepo Monethi in his address to senators yesterday. The […]
Ngoni Muzofa PRIME Minister Thomas Thabane’s government will request the deployment of more troops to Lesotho from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) when the regional body’s double troika meeting meets in Pretoria tomorrow to review the situation in the Mountain Kingdom. The government wants SADC, which has already deployed a handful of troops into […]
Ngoni Muzofa FORMER deputy premier Mothetjoa Metsing has fled the country citing a tip-off from a “trusted source” about a plot to assassinate him. Mr Metsing, who is also Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) leader, fled the country to an unspecified destination on Tuesday, a day after his party deputy, Tšeliso Mokhosi, handed himself over […]
Incoming govt commits to truth and reconciliation commission Outgoing regime says it’s a witch-hunt targeting Metsing, Kamoli Ngoni Muzofa GLOBAL human rights watchdog Amnesty International has called on the incoming Thomas Thabane-led coalition government to “act swiftly” to ensure accountability for past human rights violations. In a report released yesterday, the organisation also urged […]
Ngoni Muzofa PRIME Minister-elect Thomas Thabane’s estranged wife, Lipolelo Alice Thabane, was shot dead last night in Ha Masana, Maseru while traveling in a vehicle with a female companion who sustained serious injuries. Police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent Clifford Molefe yesterday told the Lesotho Times that a 58-year old woman was shot dead at about […]
Ngoni Muzofa EVERY election witnesses the rise and fall in fortunes of political parties and candidates, and last Saturday’s National Assembly polls were no exception. On one hand, many prominent candidates successfully retained their seats while on the other notable politicians were forced to bite the dust. The hard-fought elections saw the All Basotho […]
. . . as election day draws near Ngoni Muzofa IF crowd sizes at last weekend’s political rallies is anything to go by, the battle for State house will likely be between the All Basotho Convention (ABC) and the Democratic Alliance-Lesotho Congress for Democracy axis. Basotho will go to the polls on Saturday to […]
Ngoni Muzofa LESOTHO will hold its third National Assembly elections in five years on 3 June 2017 after Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili’s seven-party coalition government lost a parliamentary no-confidence vote sponsored by four opposition parties on 1 March 2017. Apart from Dr Mosisili’s Democratic Congress (DC) the outgoing governing coalition consists of the Lesotho […]
Billy Ntaote TWELVE All Basotho Convention (ABC) legislators from the Berea district have pledged their allegiance to party leader Thomas Thabane and shot down rumours they would follow former deputy leader, Tlali Khasu. Addressing a press conference held in Teyateyaneng on Tuesday, the members of parliament (MPs) said they were part of the ABC fold […]
Billy Ntaote NEWLY-APPOINTED Principal Secretary for Cabinet Administration, Mothabathe Hlalele, has accused the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of “snooping” on the programmes being run by the Prime Minister’s Office. In an interview with the Lesotho Times this week, Mr Hlalele said he was “perturbed” by the manner the IEC has been addressing complaints levelled against […]
Lekhetho Ntsukunyane PRIME Minister Thomas Thabane’s estranged wife, Lipolelo Alice Thabane, is the country’s official First Lady and should be immediately afforded all benefits she is entitled to including a Chauffer driven government vehicle and a bodyguard, the High Court has ruled. The judgment is a major blow to the Prime Minister’s current young partner, […]
Bongiwe Zihlangu SOUTH African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has strongly voiced his displeasure with Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s request to recall Police Commissioner Khothatso Tšooana from his special leave in Algeria, warning the move would cause South Africa to withdraw all its security detail seconded to protect the premier . It would also cause Lieutenant […]
Tefo Tefo A landmark constitutional case in which Deputy Prime Minister, Mothetjoa Metsing, wants the Constitutional Court to declare acquisition of his banking details by the anti-corruption unit unconstitutional will proceed on September 9, 2014 in the Constitutional Court. The case was postponed on Thursday after the respondents filed their answering affidavits on Tuesday […]
…as Prime Minister Thomas Thabane flees to South Africa Staff Reporters ANARCHY reigned in Lesotho yesterday after Prime Minister Thomas Thabane fled into South Africa as the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) staged what the premier has since described as a coup d’état. On a day of high drama, many nervous Basotho, including ministers and senior government […]
Keiso Mohloboli THE LESOTHO Congress for Democracy (LCD) Deputy Secretary General, Tšeliso Mokhosi, yesterday said the LCD-led march which had been earmarked for tomorrow has since been cancelled. The march was aimed at putting pressure on Prime Minister Thomas Thabane to lift the nine-month suspension of parliament which he effected on 10 June 2014 at […]
Premier insists Lieutenant General Kamoli is no longer army commander Staff Reporters PRIME Minister Thomas Thabane has assured Basotho that he remains in charge of the government and will shortly be back in the country to assert his authority after Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli’s attempt to stage a coup. The Prime Minister also insisted that he had fired Lt […]
Keiso Mohloboli LIEUTENANT General Tlali Kamoli says he is still the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) commander despite a statement to the contrary issued by Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s Press Secretary, Thabo Thakalekoala, yesterday. In an interview with the Sunday Express, Lt General Kamoli scoffed at Mr Thakalekoala’s radio announcement, insisting he remained the LDF boss. Mr […]
Billy Ntaote NEWLY-APPOINTED Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) Commander, Lieutenant General Maaparankoe Mahao, escaped unharmed when unknown gunmen attacked his Koalabata home yesterday morning. Lieutenant General Mahao was appointed the new LDF boss on Friday, taking over from Lieutenant General Tlali Kamoli, according to an Extraordinary Government Gazette Volume 59 published on Friday 29 August 2014. […]
Lekhetho Ntsukunyane A Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) sub-inspector was shot dead, while three constables were seriously injured during yesterday’s clashes between the police and members of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF). The violence, which took place at Maseru Central Police Station, Police Headquarters and Ha-Mabote Police Station, started at around 3am and resulted in […]
SUSPECTS held at the police headquarters in Maseru have been released following the storming of government and police buildings and jamming of radio stations by military units today. The army units have since left the police headquarters but left anarchy in their wake as police had fled the building fearing for their safety. Due […]
By Diadie Ba and Saliou Samb DAKAR/CONAKRY (Reuters) – The West African state of Senegal became the fifth country to be touched by the world’s worst Ebola outbreak on Friday, while riots broke out in neighbouring Guinea where infection rates are rising fast. The deadly virus has defied efforts by governments to control it, prompting […]
