Monyane Moleleki

Monyane Moleleki (born 5 January 1951) is a Lesotho politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Lesotho, as well as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, from 2017 to 2020. As a leading figure in the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), Moleleki was Minister of Natural Resources from 1993 to 1994, Minister of Information from 1996 to 1998, Minister of Natural Resources from 1998 to 2004, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2007, and Minister of Natural Resources from 2007 to 2012. After breaking with the LCD, Moleleki served as Deputy Leader of the Democratic Congress and was Minister of Police from 2015 to 2016. He left the Democratic Congress and launched a new party, the Alliance of Democrats, in 2017.

Monyane Moleleki
(2017 - 2020)
Deputy Prime Minister
Prime MinisterTom Thabane
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
Personal details
Born (1951-01-05) 5 January 1951
OccupationPolitician

Moleleki has two children, named, Mohlomi Moleleki and Liepollo Moleleki.

Political career

Appointed to the government as Minister of National Resources in 1993, Moleleki was briefly kidnapped along with three other ministers by soldiers on April 14, 1994; another minister, Deputy Prime Minister Selometsi Baholo, was killed in this incident.[1] Police then went on strike in May 1994, and Moleleki resigned and left the country for Botswana, saying that he thought he was likely to be targeted for assassination next.[2] In March 1995 he returned to Lesotho and was detained by members of the National Security Service on March 29.[3] He was elected as Deputy Secretary General of the governing Basutoland Congress Party at a party conference in March 1996.[4] In December 1996 he became Minister of Information and Broadcasting following the death of the previous minister, Pakane Khala, in November,[5] and in June 1998 he was again appointed Minister of Natural Resources.[6]

After serving for several years as Minister of Natural Resources, Moleleki became Minister of Foreign Affairs in November 2004[7] and served in that position until March 2007, when he became Minister of Natural Resources again.[8]

He was said to have been shot and wounded in the arm in an attack at his home at night on January 29, 2006.[9][10] Some say "o thuntsoe ka thipa" meaning he was "shot with a knife". He has said that the attack was politically motivated.

Moleleki was viewed by some as a possible candidate to eventually take over from Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili. When Mosisili returned to office in 2015, this time as leader of the Democratic Congress, he appointed Moleleki, the party's deputy leader, as Minister of Police.

Amidst reports that Moleleki was talking to opposition leader Tom Thabane about forming an alliance, Mosisili removed Moleleki from his post as Minister of Police in November 2016 and instead appointed him to a post in the Prime Minister's Office.[11] Later in the same month, Moleleki and Thabane announced an agreement to remove Mosisili and install Moleleki as Prime Minister.[12] He was suspended from the Democratic Congress in December 2016 and launched a new party, the Alliance of Democrats, in January 2017.[13] The new party and its allies defeated Mosisili in a vote of confidence on 1 March 2017 and proposed Moleleki as the new Prime Minister;[14] however, Mosisili opted not to step aside and called an early election instead, despite an opposition effort to obstruct the move.[15]

In the June 2017 parliamentary election, the parties opposed to Mosisili, including the Alliance of Democrats, won a majority of seats, and Tom Thabane became Prime Minister. Thabane's cabinet was sworn in on 23 June 2017, including Moleleki as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.[16]

He is also known as "Mahaletere" because of his halter-like beard and mustache.

He is famous for a short video clip, that went viral, where he continuously kept say “Leqe” during a press conference. He was describing to a journalist what should happen when international donas give Lesotho money, he insinuated that it should be “chowed” and after it is depleted ask for more. The phrase “Leqe Leqe” means to “spoil” yourself with money that was donated to the country. The viral video inspired a song by a Lesotho Rapper named Sep Dz.

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References
  1. "Deputy Prime Minister Murdered by Army Faction" Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Summary of Events in Lesotho, 2nd quarter 1994, trc.org.ls.
  2. "Lesotho Police on Strike" Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Summary of Events in Lesotho, 2nd quarter 1994, trc.org.ls.
  3. "National Security Service ‘Ninjas’ Act with Impunity" Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Summary of Events in Lesotho, 2nd quarter 1995, trc.org.ls.
  4. "Annual Conference of the BCP" Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Summary of Events in Lesotho, 1st quarter 1996, trc.org.ls.
  5. "Deaths of Parliamentarians; New Senators Appointed" Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Summary of Events in Lesotho, 4th quarter 1996, trc.org.ls.
  6. "Appointment of New Cabinet" Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Summary of Events in Lesotho, Volume 5, Number 2, 2nd quarter 1998, trc.org.ls.
  7. "Major Cabinet Reshuffle Announced" Archived 2007-03-28 at the Wayback Machine, Summary of Events in Lesotho - 4th quarter 2004, trc.org.ls.
  8. "Lesotho’s new cabinet comprises former ministers", African Press Agency, March 3, 2007.
  9. "Gunmen attack foreign minister's home" Archived 2006-06-15 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters, January 30, 2006.
  10. "Moleleki Shooting Incident Repercussions Continue" Archived 2010-04-07 at the Wayback Machine, Summary of Events in Lesotho - Second Quarter 2006, trc.org.ls.
  11. Nthakoana Ngatane, "Lesotho's Pakalitha Mosisili sacks four ministers" Archived 2017-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, SABC News, 9 November 2016.
  12. Nthakoana Ngatane, "Lesotho parties to form coalition govt" Archived 2017-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, SABC News, 24 November 2016.
  13. Nthakoana Ngatane, "Thousands attend inaugural rally in Maseru" Archived 2017-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, SABC News, 29 January 2017.
  14. "Lesotho set for elections following no-confidence vote against PM Mosisili", Africanews, 2 March 2017.
  15. Nthakoana Ngatane, "Lesotho prepares for general elections" Archived 2017-03-10 at the Wayback Machine, SABC News, 7 March 2017.
  16. "New cabinet sworn in", LENA, 23 June 2017.
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