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| - Key events in Lesotho since independence: On October 4, 1966 the former British protectorate of Basutoland gains independence. King Moshoeshoe II is crowned, although in 1970 he is forced into exile for several months. In 1986 South Africa's regime foments a coup in Lesotho to prevent it being used as a support base for the African National Congress (ANC), which spearheaded the fight against the apartheid regime. Prime minister Chief Jonathan is replaced by General Lekhanya. Moshoeshoe is again forced into exile in 1990 after a military putsch, and is replaced by his son Letsie III. In 1993 the country returns to a constitutional monarchy after 23 years of coups and military regimes. On January 25, 1995 King Moshoeshoe II is restored to the throne after his son abdicates. A year later Letsie III again takes the throne after the death of his father in a car accident. In May 1998 the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy party wins a landslide in the national assembly at general elections. But a dispute over the results plunges the country into political crisis. Demonstrations and an army mutiny prompt an intervention by South African and Botswanan troops, and 75 people are killed in clashes in the capital, which is badly damaged. In 2007 the LCD, led by Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili, wins a majority of seats in parliament. The country goes through another political crisis as the opposition contests the results. A curfew is imposed in Maseru in June after a series of attacks on ministers and their bodyguards. In 2012 Mosisili resigns after failing to secure a majority in parliament. Thomas Thabane, backed by an opposition coalition, is named prime minister, marking the first changeover of power between political parties through the ballot box. Two years later the army carries out a failed coup against Thabane, who flees to South Africa, before being reinstated following mediation by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional bloc. Thabane returns to Lesotho on June 3, 2017 after two years of political exile, winning snap elections. On June 14, two days before he takes his oath of office his wife Lipolelo Thabane, whom he is divorcing, is gunned down in Maseru. Two months later he marries his current wife Maesaiah Thabane. In February 2020 the First Lady is charged with Lipolelo Thabane's murder. On February 20 police say Thomas Thabane will be charged. The following day, his aide says he has gone to South Africa for "emergency medical attention". acm-nzg-jmy/sch/ri
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