Utafiti: Journal of African Perspectives

 

Call for Papers: Utafiti is inviting you to submit your manuscript – any topic in the humanities - for consideration in the next issues.

 

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The June 2017 election had resulted in the formation of Lesotho’s third coalition government since 2012. With a narrow majority, it was always at risk of defeat by defection by individual mps, this contributing to a perpetual sense of political instability in a country where party loyalties have always been fickle, and where the military has a long record of political intervention and has become highly politicised. Eager to resolve the long-running crisis, sadc placed concerted pressure on the government and its opponents to implement far-reaching political and security reforms. The resultant national dialogue of political parties, held in December, proved to be constructive yet inconclusive. Political uncertainty was compounded by divisions within the All Basotho Convention (abc), which threatened to bring down the coalition government, and the announcement by former prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili that he would step down from the leadership of the Democratic Congress (dc), the largest opposition party. Although this raised hopes for the passing of a generation of political leaders bearing a heavy responsibility for the country’s instability, popular opinion registered deep distrust of the existing political system.