Opposition protesters want embattled Lesotho PM to resign immediately

Hundreds of mainly opposition supporters protested in the streets of the Lesotho capital Maseru, demanding that the Prime Minister Thomas Thabane resigns.

This comes as the leader is questioned by police over the 2017 murder of his estranged wife. Thabane last week agreed to resign after mediation efforts by South African envoy, Jeff Radebe.

Thabane was interviewed at his office rather than at a police station, following a request by his party, the All Basotho Convention (ABC). The First Lady is still the subject of a police summons in the murder of her predecessor.

A protester, Ramahooana Matlosa, said immediate resignation was the right thing to do: “We came here for a protest march to demand for the prime minister to resign with immediate effect.

“There are reasons why we want him to resign immediately. The first one is that he does not respect the rule of law. In this government, already, there are 60 people who have been killed in police custody,” he added.

The couple had been embroiled in bitter divorce proceedings. Some of the placards protesters carried had inscriptions like: “Thabane must go today” whiles others chanted “Thabane and his wife must go” and “We want justice for Lipolelo”.