Maseru
– Embattled Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane on Friday ordered the
security forces and intelligence service to probe his party rivals, whom he
accused of plotting to topple his government.
The 80-year-old Thabane early
this year offered to step down from office by 31 July after he was accused of
having a hand in the 2017 murder of his estranged wife.
But his rivals are pushing for
his early departure and have teamed up with opposition with the goal of forming
a coalition government.
In a televised address, Thabane
said he was shocked that some members of his All Basotho Convention (ABC) were
leading what he described as a campaign to illegally oust his government.
“While we are busy dealing
with Covid-19, it is shocking to learn that some selfish people are busy
plotting to unlawfully overthrow the government.
“Embarrassingly, some of the
people leading the campaign to topple my government are legislators from the
party that I am leading.”
New coalition partnership
“I therefore order security
bosses to investigate these terrorism acts and ensure that legal action is
taken against those leading this campaign,” said Thabane.
Less than an hour later, the
ABC’s vice president, Nqosa Mahao, announced at a news conference that the ABC
had signed a coalition agreement with the main opposition Democratic Congress
(DC) and smaller parties.
“A new coalition partnership
has already been signed and we have enough numbers to become a
government,” Mahao said.
Factional battles that have
rocked Thabane’s party since last year have thrown his current coalition
government into disarray.
Allegations then emerged that the
premier acted in “common purpose” in the killing of his erstwhile
58-year-old wife Lipolelo Thabane, who he was in the process of divorcing.
His current wife Maesaiah
Thabane, 42, whom he married two months after Lipolelo’s death, is considered a
co-conspirator in the murder case.
In February, the ABC asked him to
leave office “immediately” and nominated chairman Sam Rapapa as his
successor.