This archive report was first published on 20 May 2020.
On May 20, 2020, Moeketsi Majoro, Lesotho's new Prime Minister, was sworn in at the king's palace in front of dignitaries. In a brief ceremony, Majoro took the oath without delivering a speech.
Majoro's appointment comes after a tumultuous period in Lesotho's politics. Thomas Thabane, the previous Prime Minister, had been under pressure to resign following his indictment in the murder of his former spouse, Lipolelo Thabane. Thabane, 80, had been named as a suspect in the case, along with his current wife, Maesaiah, who is 43 years old.
Lipolelo Thabane was shot dead in her car in June 2017, just two days before her husband's inauguration. The couple had reportedly been going through a divorce, but Thabane had refused to grant Lipolelo a divorce. He married Maesaiah just two months later.
Maesaiah has been charged with murder, while Thabane has argued in court that he has immunity due to his office. Both Thabane and Maesaiah deny any wrongdoing.
Thabane's resignation was a result of intense pressure from his own party, the All Basotho Convention (ABC), opposition figures, and South African mediators. Despite his inner circle of loyalists wanting him to remain in office, Thabane finally bowed to the calls to quit.
Majoro, a former senior IMF official, now faces the daunting task of uniting a fractious political elite in a country that has suffered several coups since its independence from Britain in 1966.
