SA Facilitates Soft Exit for Lesothoâ€™S PM

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Legalbrief | your legal news hub Friday 01 October 2021 SA facilitates soft exit for Lesothoâ€™s PM Following South Africa’s speedy intervention, Lesotho’s warring parties yesterday agreed to facilitate embattled Prime Minister Tom Thabane’s exit from office. Former Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said parliament will start the process to ensure Thabane's retirement with ‘grace, dignity, and security’ within three days of its opening. It is unclear exactly when parliament will reopen, but it is expected to be soon. If there are any delays, the 10 applicants engaged in court action to reopen parliament will go back to court. They include the National Executive Committee of the ruling All Basotho Convention, the Democratic Congress, the Basotho National Party, the Popular Front for Democracy and individual MPs. A report on the IoL site notes that there are lingering concerns that despite the breakthrough, Thabane may renege on his promises as he has done in the past. Having lost two critical court cases, the legal avenues for Thabane to stay in power seem to have closed. The report notes that he is likely trying to push for immunity from prosecution for any alleged involvement in the murder of his first wife Lipolelo Thabane once he steps down. BBC News reports that Radebe told journalists that although Thabane had pledged to resign in July, the timeline stipulated in the deal was 'immediate'. 'There are one or two issues that need to be traversed in order to ensure that all political parties are of the same mind in terms of speeding up that parliamentary process,' he added. Thabane’s second wife Maesaiah Thabane has been charged with murder and is out on bail..

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Lesotho the Commonwealth Yearbook 2014 the Commonwealth Yearbook the Most Significant Issue Is Overgrazing, Resulting Maseru (Capital, Pop
Lesotho Lesotho KEY FACTS Africa is Thabana–Ntlenyana (3,842 metres) in eastern Lesotho. The land descends to the west to an arable belt, known as the Joined Commonwealth: 1966 lowlands, where the capital is situated and two-thirds of the Population: 2,052,000 (2012) population live. The country is well-watered in a generally dry GDP p.c. growth: 2.8% p.a. 1990–2012 region, the Orange river and its tributary the Caledon both rising in UN HDI 2012: world ranking 158 Lesotho. Official languages: Sesotho, English Climate: The climate is temperate with well-marked seasons. The Time: GMT plus 2hr rainy season (receiving 85 per cent of total precipitation) is October Currency: loti, plural maloti (M) to April, when there are frequent violent thunderstorms. Rainfall averages 746 mm p.a. Temperatures in the lowlands range from Geography 32.2°C to –6.7°C; the range is much greater in the mountains. From May to September, snow falls in the highlands with heavy Area: 30,355 sq km frosts occurring in the lowlands. Coastline: none Capital: Maseru Environment: The most significant issue is overgrazing, resulting The Kingdom of Lesotho is a small landlocked country entirely in severe soil erosion and desertification. surrounded by South Africa. It is known as the ‘Mountain Vegetation: Mainly grassland and bushveld, with forest in ravines Kingdom’, the whole country being over 1,000 metres in altitude. and on the windward slopes of mountains. Forest covers one per The country is divided into ten districts, each named after the cent of the land area and arable land comprises ten per cent.
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