Kelebone Maope

Kelebone Albert Maope (born 1945) is a politician in Lesotho. He served in the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) and Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) governments during the 1990s before splitting from the LCD in 2001 to form his own party, the Lesotho People's Congress (LPC).

As a member of the BCP, Maope served as Attorney General and Minister of Justice under the military regime that ruled Lesotho from 1986 to 1993. [Francis K. Makoa, [http://www.iss.co.za/ASR/5No3/PoliticalInstabillity.html "Political Instability in Post-Military Lesotho: The Crisis of the Basotho Nation-state?"] , African Security Review Vol 5 No 3, 1996.] He was also Minister of Justice in the BCP government that took office in 1993. ["Jun 1993 - LESOTHO", Keesing's Record of World Events, Volume 39, June, 1993 Lesotho, Page 39500.] On April 14, 1994, he was briefly kidnapped along with three other ministers by soldiers; a fifth minister, Deputy Prime Minister Selometsi Baholo, was killed in this incident. [ [http://www.trc.org.ls/events/events19.942.htm "Deputy Prime Minister Murdered by Army Faction"] , Summary of Events in Lesotho, 2nd quarter 1994, trc.org.ls.]

Maope served as Minister of Justice until he was named Minister of Foreign Affairs in a cabinet reshuffle on July 20 1995. [ [http://www.trc.org.ls/events/events19.953.htm "Cabinet Reshuffle"] , Summary of Events in Lesotho, Volume 2, Number 3, Third Quarter 1995, trc.org.ls.] On February 21 1998 he was elected Deputy Leader of the new ruling party, the LCD, which had been formed in 1997. [ [http://www.trc.org.ls/events/events19.981.htm#Lesotho%20Congress%20for%20Democracy%20Vacillates%20Before%20Electing%20New%20Leader "Lesotho Congress for Democracy Vacillates Before Electing New Leader"] , Summary of Events in Lesotho, Volume 5, Number 1, First Quarter 1998, trc.org.ls.] He remained in this position until June 1998, when he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation. [ [http://www.trc.org.ls/events/events19.982.htm#Appointment%20of%20New%20Cabinet "Appointment of New Cabinet"] , Summary of Events in Lesotho, Volume 5, Number 2, Second Quarter 1998, trc.org.ls.] On July 22 1999, he became Minister of Finance and Development Planning, while remaining Deputy Prime Minister. [ [http://www.trc.org.ls/events/events19.993.htm#Government%20Reshuffle%20Following%20Ketso’s%20Resignation "Government Reshuffle Following Ketso’s Resignation"] , Summary of Events in Lesotho, Volume 6, Number 3, Third Quarter 1999, trc.org.ls.]

In early 2001, Maope was re-elected as Deputy Leader of the LCD without opposition. [ [http://www.trc.org.ls/events/events20.011.htm#Office%20Bearers%20win%20by%20Narrow%20Margins%20at%20LCD%20Conference "Office Bearers win by Narrow Margins at LCD Conference"] , Summary of Events in Lesotho, Volume 8, Number 1, First Quarter 2001, trc.org.ls.] In July 2001, he was moved from his position as Minister of Finance to that of Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, remaining Deputy Prime Minister. [ [http://www.trc.org.ls/events/events20.013.htm "Cabinet Reshuffle Results in New Blood"] , Summary of Events in Lesotho, Volume 8, Number 3, Third Quarter 2001, trc.org.ls.]

In September 2001, tensions within the LCD were reflected in a statement by Maope, a member of the party's Lesiba faction, alleging that the government was oppressive. Foreign Minister Tom Thabane then publicly insulted Maope. On September 28, Maope resigned from the government, [ [http://www.trc.org.ls/events/events20.013.htm "Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Trade Insults; DPM Later Resigns"] , Summary of Events in Lesotho, Volume 8, Number 3, Third Quarter 2001, trc.org.ls.] and he formed a new party, the Lesotho People's Congress (LPC), which was registered on October 8. The LPC, with Maope as its leader, gained 27 members of parliament through defections from the LCD. [ [http://www.trc.org.ls/events/events20.014.htm#LCD%20Dissidents%20Form%20New%20Political%20Party "LCD Dissidents Form New Political Party"] , Summary of Events in Lesotho, Volume 8, Number 4, Fourth Quarter 2001, trc.org.ls.]

In the May 2002 parliamentary election, Maope won a seat in the Seqonoka constituency; he was the only LPC candidate to win a constituency, although the party gained four other seats through proportional representation. [ [http://www.trc.org.ls/events/events20.022.htm#Compensatory%20Seats%20Spring%20a%20Few%20Surprises "Compensatory Seats Spring a Few Surprises"] , Summary of Events in Lesotho, Volume 9, Number 2, Second Quarter 2002, trc.org.ls.]

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