Tom Thabane

Thomas Motsoahae Thabane (born 28 May 1939) is a Mosotho politician who was the fifth prime minister of Lesotho from 2012 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2020.

Thabane served as Principal Secretary for Health under Leabua Jonathan, the second Prime Minister of Lesotho, until the military overthrew Jonathan in 1986.

He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1990 to 1991.

Thabane then served with the military regime under General Justin Lekhanya until 1991.

Thabane became an advisor to Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle in early 1995.

Thabane served in the government of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili from 1998 to 2006 as a member of the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), but in 2006 he split from the LCD and launched the All Basotho Convention (ABC).

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.

He founded the All Basotho Convention (ABC) in 2006 and led the party until 2022.

Thabane resigned from the government on 9 October 2006, and formed a new party, the All Basotho Convention (ABC).

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 to join the ABC in opposition on 13 October 2006; 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.

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.

An extended dispute followed the 2007 election regarding the allocation of 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 leader 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; 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 a 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".

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.

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.

Thabane fled to South Africa 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.

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.

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, Thabane said this would be his last term in parliament.

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 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.