Amnesty says Lesotho leader has failed to tackle abuses

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - The kingdom of Lesotho has failed to tackle civil rights abuses despite the promise of incoming Prime Minister Thomas Thabane to respect the law, a rights group said Tuesday.

Lesotho, which is surrounded by South Africa, has suffered arbitrary arrests of opposition members, journalists, human rights defenders and soldiers since 2014, according to Amnesty International.

The country has a history of instability marked by military coups or attempted coups. When he was inaugurated in June, Thabane pledged to create a more stable and lawful country.

“Prime Minister Thabane’s government has missed an opportunity in these 100 days to demonstrate a clear break from the past to ensure accountability for past human rights violations,” Deprose Muchena, Amnesty’s regional director, said in a statement.

The group highlighted the case of Lt. Gen. Maaparankoe Mahao, who was shot dead by soldiers in June 2015. Amnesty said there had been no progress in the investigation into his killing.

“It is also unclear how far criminal investigations into the killing of Prime Minister Thabane’s estranged wife have progressed,” the statement said.

Lipolelo Thabane was shot dead by unknown assailants in June, on the eve of her husband’s inauguration.

Several other senior officers in the Lesotho Defence Forces were killed in a shooting earlier this month and in June a newspaper editor was shot after publishing articles on corruption in the police and military.

“Prime Minister Thomas Thabane must seize the opportunity to open a new chapter for Lesotho by urgently tackling the culture of impunity that has fuelled human rights violations for decades,” Muchena said.

“Failing to address historic abuses simply creates a culture whereby more abuses occur.”

Makuena Sello, an official at the Communication Ministry, told Anadolu Agency that the ministry could not respond to Amnesty’s comments because the minister was out of the country. When contacted, government spokesman Ramakhula Ramakhula promised to return Anadolu Agency’s call but did not.

There have been three elections in Lesotho in the past three years but none have resulted in a clear majority. Thabane now heads a coalition government following a vote of no confidence in former Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili.

Earlier this month, the Southern African Development Community approved the deployment of a security force to Lesotho in a bid to contain the deteriorating situation.