Thomas Motsoahae Thabane (born 28 May 1939) is a

Mosotho The Sotho () people, also known as the Basuto or Basotho (), are a Bantu nation native to southern Africa. They split into different ethnic groups over time, due to regional conflicts and colonialism, which resulted in the modern Basotho, who ...

politician who was the fifth

prime minister of Lesotho This is a list of prime ministers of Lesotho () since the formation of the post of Prime Minister of Lesotho in 1965, to the present day. A total of seven people have served as Prime Minister of Lesotho (not counting one Acting Prime Minister a ...

from 2012 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2020. He founded the

All Basotho Convention The All Basotho Convention (ABC; ) is a political party in Lesotho. The party was formed in October 2006 and founded by Tom Thabane, a former minister in the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) led by the government of Prime Minister Pakalitha ...

(ABC) in 2006 and led the party until 2022. Thabane served in the government of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili from 1998 to 2006 as a member of the ruling

Lesotho Congress for Democracy The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) is a political party in Lesotho. In 1997, Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle left the Basutoland Congress Party to form with his faction the new Lesotho Congress for Democracy. The new party won the 1998 ele ...

(LCD), but in 2006 he split from the LCD and launched the All Basotho Convention (ABC). After more than five years in opposition, he built a coalition of 12 parties in the wake of the 2012 Lesotho parliamentary election and was appointed Prime Minister. In the 2015 Lesotho parliamentary election, the ABC was democratically removed from power by a seven-party coalition led by Mosisili, though the ABC did win the most constituencies. Two months later, Thabane fled to South Africa with two other opposition leaders, claiming that their lives were in danger. They returned to Lesotho on 12 February 2017 to participate in a parliamentary vote of no confidence that unseated Mosisili. Thabane went on to win a plurality of seats in the subsequent

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

and returned as prime minister. In 2020, Thabane faced pressure to resign as prime minister due to his alleged involvement in his ex-spouse's murder. He announced on 18 May that he would resign the following day.

Political career

Thabane served as Principal Secretary for Health under

Leabua Jonathan Joseph Leabua Jonathan (30 October 1914 – 5 April 1987) was the second prime minister of Lesotho. He succeeded Chief Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane following a by-election and held that post from 1965 to 1986. Early life and career Born in Le ...

, the second Prime Minister of Lesotho, until the military overthrew Jonathan in 1986. Thabane then served with the military regime under General

Justin Lekhanya General Justin Metsing Lekhanya (7 April 1938 – 20 January 2021) was the Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Military Council of Lesotho from 24 January 1986 to 2 May 1991. Background Born in Thaba-Tseka in 1938, Lekhanya completed his pri ...

until 1991."Mosisili Appointed Deputy Prime Minister"
Summary of Events in Lesotho, volume 2, number 1, first quarter 1995, trc.org.ls. He was

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

from 1990 to 1991. Thabane became an advisor to Prime Minister

Ntsu Mokhehle Ntsu Mokhehle (26 December 1918 – 6 January 1999) was a Lesotho politician. He founded Basutoland African Congress (BAC) in 1952. He founded Basutoland Congress Party in 1957 then later in 1997 founded Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). He ...

in early 1995. He subsequently served again as Foreign Minister in Mosisili's LCD government from June 1998 to June 2002, when he was appointed as Minister of Home Affairs and Public Safety. In November 2004 he was appointed Minister of Communications, Science and Technology.

In opposition

Thabane resigned from the government on 9 October 2006, and formed a new party, the All Basotho Convention (ABC)."New Lesotho political party formed"
AFP (IOL), 13 October 2006. He claimed that his goal was to unite all Basotho, not only those from the Congress party or National Party. Some believed the ABC could lead Lesotho to economic development. 18 MPs

crossed the floor Crossed may refer to: * ''Crossed'' (comics), a 2008 comic book series by Garth Ennis * ''Crossed'' (novel), a 2010 young adult novel by Ally Condie * "Crossed" (''The Walking Dead''), an episode of the television series ''The Walking Dead'' S ...

to join the ABC in opposition on 13 October 2006;"18 MPs Cross the Floor in the National Assembly to Form New Parliamentary Party"
Summary of Events in Lesotho - 3rd quarter 2006, trc.org.ls. 17 of these (including Thabane) had been LCD members, and one had been an independent. Thabane's party thus became the third-largest party in Parliament. The ruling party was left with 61 of the 120 parliamentary seats; with such a precarious majority, Mosisili requested the dissolution of Parliament, and an early election was called for February 2007.Bethuel Thai
"Lesotho will go to the polls in February 2007"

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

(''

IOL Cherchell (Arabic: شرشال) is a town on Algeria's Mediterranean coast, west of Algiers. It is the seat of Cherchell District in Tipaza Province. Under the names Iol and Caesarea, it was formerly a Roman colony and the capital of the kin ...

''), 1 December 2006. Retrieved 1 December 2006. In the election, the ABC took 17 out of 80 constituency seats, while the LCD took 61. Thabane said that the vote was free but not fair."Win was not fair - opposition"
AFP (''IOL''), 21 February 2007. An extended dispute followed the 2007 election regarding the allocation of the seats based on proportional representation. Five opposition parties called for the Speaker of Parliament to designate Thabane as Leader of the Opposition in March 2007, but the Speaker rejected this on the grounds that the agreement made by the opposition parties was not legitimate.

National Independent Party The National Independent Party is a political party in Lesotho. The NIP was founded by Anthony Manyeli as a split from the Basotho National Party.Dominic Motikoe was instead designated the Leader of the Opposition, despite leading a party that was allied with the LCD. On 14 June 2007, an assassination attempt on Thabane allegedly occurred, with gunmen firing outside his home. Several other incidents of political violence occurred around the same time, and an indefinite curfew was imposed;"Lesotho imposes a curfew"
AFP (''IOL''), 20 June 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2007."Curfew lifted in Lesotho"
AFP (''IOL''), 24 June 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007. it was lifted later in the month. Thabane was critical of the curfew and accused the police of excessively harsh enforcement of it. The LCD's reluctance to engage in talks regarding the political situation prompted Thabane on 18 October 2007 to threaten street protests to pressure the government into holding a new election "if they continue to fail to cooperate". After an 22 April 2009 assault on Mosisili's residence, which was believed to have been a failed attempt to kill him, police said that retired officer Makotoko Lerotholi, a bodyguard of Thabane, was suspected of involvement in the attack. Thabane condemned the government for placing blame on the opposition, describing it as "treachery".

Prime Minister

After more than five years in opposition, Thabane formed a coalition with other parties in the wake of the 2012 Lesotho parliamentary election and was appointed Prime Minister. Tom Thabane with Obamas 2014

Thabane fled to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

on 30 August 2014, alleging that the military was attempting to take power and wanted to kill him. He said that he would go back to Lesotho only if he felt his life was not in danger. The military denied the allegations. He returned to Lesotho on 3 September 2014 under the protection of South African police.

Post-premiership

Thabane's party failed to attain a majority in the 2015 snap election and was unsuccessful in forming a coalition government. In an interview on the

South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...

, Thabane said this would be his last term in parliament. He cited Nelson Mandela as an example of a leader who voluntarily left office. Following the opposition's June 2015 boycott of parliament to protest the government's alleged disinterest in investigating circumstances surrounding Brigadier-General

Maaparankoe Mahao Maaparankoe Mahao (27 January 1968 in Thaba-Tseka – 25 June 2015 near Mokema, Maseru District) was a Mosotho lieutenant general. His appointment as commander of the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF) in 2014 and the resultant refusal of his predecesso ...

's death, Thabane and two other opposition party leaders left for South Africa and did not attend any parliamentary sittings, citing security issues and instability in the country. On 12 February 2017 they returned to Lesotho, declaring that Mosisili no longer commanded a parliamentary majority and vowing to oust him in a vote of no confidence. Thabane claimed that he was risking his life by returning.

Prime Minister (2017–2020)

Mosisili was defeated in the vote of no confidence, leading to a new election in June 2017. The ABC won the most seats, and with its allies was able to command a majority. Thabane was sworn in as Prime Minister on 16 June 2017. In October 2017 rumours that Thabane had been hospitalised in South Africa were dismissed by a spokesperson as propaganda intended to destabilise Lesotho. In 2020, Thabane faced pressure to resign due to allegations of murdering his ex-wife. On 11 May 2020, his coalition government collapsed after his coalition partners withdrew their support. National Assembly Speaker Sephiri Motanyane said that Thabane would have to step down by 22 May as he was now leading a caretaker government. Thabane announced on 18 May that he would effectively resign the following day. Finance minister Moeketsi Majoro was designated as his successor. Thabane initially resisted calls from ABC members to step down as leader. He announced his intention to relinquish the party leadership in January 2022, citing poor health and his advanced age. The party then elected Nkaku Kabi to succeed Thabane.

Personal life

Thabane's first wife was Matoka Judith Thabane (maiden name Mamotapanyane Yayi Fobo), with whom he had four children. She retained her married name after they divorced and died of natural causes on 26 August 2017 at the age of 79. Thabane was next married to Lipolelo Thabane, who filed for divorce from him in 2012. On 14 June 2017, Lipolelo Thabane was shot dead in Ha-'Masana, outside

Maseru Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. T ...

. On 27 August 2017, Thabane married

Maesiah Thabane Maesaiah or Maesiah Thabane (born 16 April 1977) is the wife of the former prime minister of Lesotho Tom Thabane since her marriage to Thabane on 27 August 2017. On 10 January 2020, police issued an arrest warrant for Maesiah Thabane in connecti ...

at a Catholic ceremony in

Setsoto Stadium The Setsoto Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Maseru, Lesotho. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 20,000. It is currently the home ground of the Lesotho national football team. It has been renovated and enla ...

. In the first week of January 2020, the ruling All Basotho Convention (ABC) party asked him to resign over his suspension of the police commissioner Holomo Molibeli, who had linked him to Lipolelo's murder.

Murder allegations

On 10 January 2020, an arrest warrant was issued for Maesiah Thabane, who is wanted in connection with the 2017 murder of Lipolelo Thabane. Maesiah Thabane went into hiding and Prime Minister Thabane announced his intent to resign from office shortly after her arrest warrant was issued. On 20 February 2020, police announced that Thabane would also be charged with murder in the case. On 21 February 2020, Thabane failed to appear in court for the case, with his son saying he had traveled to South Africa to see a doctor. Police warned that if he does not return to the country, an arrest warrant will be issued. Both his son and press secretary said that he had "not fled the country" and that he would return to the country as soon as his doctor in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

releases him. They also said that "he is willing to appear before the court of a law and hear the charges against him." The murder charges levied against him made him to be the first prime minister of Lesotho to announce his resignation. On 22 February 2020, Thabane was granted a sick leave until 27 February when he is due to appear in court to hear the charges, the country's deputy police commissioner said. Members of his party, also, have urged him to step down sooner than the end of July as he has planned. On 24 February 2020, while on sick leave, Thabane appeared in a

court for a pre-trial hearing. The charges against him were not read as his lawyers requested the case be referred to the high court to answer for a possible immunity. On 30 November 2021, he was charged with the murder of his wife.

Honours

Foreign honours

* ** Two Sicilian Royal Family: Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of Francis I The Royal Order of Francis I (properly 'The Royal Order of Francis I of the Two Sicilies' it, Reale Ordine di Francesco I) was an extinct order of merit of the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies which was annexed in 1861 by the King of Italy (u ...

References

External links

Profile
at ABC website , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Thabane, Tom 1939 births All Basotho Convention politicians Communication ministers of Lesotho Foreign Ministers of Lesotho Defense ministers of Lesotho Science ministers of Lesotho Living people Members of the National Assembly (Lesotho) People from Maseru Prime Ministers of Lesotho University of South Africa alumni