DURBAN - OPPOSITION parties in Lesotho parliament have taken the speaker to court over a secret ballot to remove prime minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro.
This after the motion of no confidence against Majoro was accepted on Friday but the Speaker ruled it would be voted by show of hands.
The crusade against Majoro is led by the leader of the Basotho Progressive Party (BPP), Tefo Mapesela, and Kose Makoa who is the Alliance of Democrats (AD) caucus chairperson.
The two filed an urgent application in the Lesotho High Court on Monday asking the court to rule that the motion of no confidence against the prime minister be voted by secret ballot.
The matter is expected to be heard on Thursday. Mapesela filed a motion last month but had to wait for the reopening of parliament on Friday. Mapesela and Makoa argued that if it was done by show of hands many MPs would not be able to vote according to their conscience because they fear victimisation by their parties.
In his affidavit, which the Daily News has seen, Mapsela said there were many MPs of the All Basotho Convention (ABC), the governing party, who had privately informed him that they supported the motion but feared victimisation if this was made known.
He said one of them was allegedly Chalale Phori who has openly criticised Majoro, adding that he was already afraid of being victimised by the ABC national executive committee which has warned its MPs not to support the motion.
Mapesela said in his affidavit that 11 ABC MPs had defected to other parties because they were not happy with Majoro’s rule. He further said many of the 34 remaining MPs would vote to remove Majoro.
The BPP leader also wants the court to interdict the speaker and parliament business committee from proceeding with the motion before the court rules on a secret ballot application. The motion is expected next week.
One of the reasons brought forward by Mapesela for Majoro’s removal is the deployment of Lesotho’s army to Mozambique to help Southern African Development Committee ( SADC) forces against jihadist insurgents who have captured gas-rich Cabo Delgado province. Majoro is accused of unilaterally taking a decision to send troops.
Mapsela, whose party broke away from the ABC wants AD leader Dr Monyane Moleleki to take over as prime minister.
Majoro, who was finance minister under ousted prime minister Tom Thabane, was sworn in as the new prime minister on May 20 last year.
Daily News