…as regional leaders defer decision to October extraordinary summit
Mohloai Mpesi
LESOTHO bid to reclaim a seat at SADC’s top table has hit a snag, with regional leaders unable to choose between the Kingdom and Angola for the incoming chairship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.
The impasse played out at the 46th SADC Ordinary Summit in Durban, South Africa, where leaders endorsed Eswatini’s formal takeover of the Organ Troika chairship from Malawi but could not agree on who should line up next.
Lesotho declared its interest in the incoming chair position in March this year, while Angola lodged a competing bid in June – setting up a contest regional leaders were unable to resolve when the summit convened on 17 August 2026. The matter has now been kicked to an extraordinary summit scheduled for 20 October.
Background
The Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation is one of SADC’s key institutions, mandated to steer the 16-member bloc’s response to threats to regional peace, security and stability.
Like the SADC Summit chair, the Organ chair rotates annually on a troika basis, comprising an outgoing, current and incoming chairperson. The incoming chair is chosen by consensus among member states.
For the past 12 years, Lesotho has not held a seat on any SADC troika structure, after being placed under the bloc’s observation over recurring political instability.
The only time the country has previously held the SADC overall regional chairmanship was in 2006/2007, under then Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili.
Lesotho briefly secured the incoming chair position in 2014/15 during Tom Thabane’s premiership but was removed within weeks after political instability erupted in the country.
Eswatini underwent a similar period of observation before being taken off the SADC agenda at a 2024 summit in Zimbabwe. It subsequently secured the incoming chair position, uncontested, in 2025 – the same year Malawi was elected chairperson of the Organ.
This year’s summit communiqué confirmed the election of Eswatini’s King Mswati III as Organ chairperson but did not name a country to succeed him as incoming chair, leaving the Lesotho-Angola contest unresolved.
Lesotho was removed from the SADC agenda in August 2025, opening the door for it to seek leadership positions within SADC structures for the first time in more than a decade.
Pending bid
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations Limpho Tau said Lesotho formally expressed its interest in becoming incoming chair through a verbal note to the SADC Secretariat in March this year.
“We expressed interest in March, through a verbal note to the (SADC) Secretary, that we wanted our name included for the incoming chairpersonship.
“We want to become incoming chair of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation. The plan is to succeed Eswatini which is now the incoming chair after Malawi,” he said.
Mr Tau said the summit of all 16 SADC member states could not reach consensus on who should be elected, resulting in the matter being deferred to an extraordinary summit to be held on or before 20 October 2026.
“So, we wanted to become incoming chair once Eswatini became chair of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security,” he said.
He added that most member states appeared to favour Lesotho’s bid.
“It is not a position we vote for. We simply put our name forward, and the summit of 16 countries decides. Where there is more than one candidate, the summit discusses what to do. More often, the competing countries discuss the matter among themselves.
“We are currently head-to-head with Angola, because they also want to secure the position,” he said.
Positive benefits
Mr Tau said securing the incoming chair position would place Lesotho among the three countries responsible for leading the management and resolution of regional political, defence and security challenges.
“The benefit is that Lesotho will be among the three countries leading on the management and resolution of political, defence and security challenges in the region. It gives us political mileage and political standing.
“When Angola deployed soldiers here in 2017, it was because it was chairing the Organ at the time. Next year, Lesotho will be chairing the Organ, ensuring that defence and regional challenges are managed and that stability is maintained,” he said.
He said Lesotho would also host Organ meetings at senior officials’, ministerial and heads-of-state level, boosting the country’s hospitality industry and profile among foreign investors.
“Obviously, you get huge delegations from all 16 SADC member states, plus invited organisations, media and the press. That is a boost for the host country’s hospitality industry.
“The country also gets a chance to demonstrate its ability to lead in resolving political, defence and security instability, which builds international and investor confidence,” he said.
Opposition challenge
The opposition had written to SADC accusing the government of systematically disregarding binding court orders and undermining the rule of law while simultaneously pursuing the national constitutional reforms process.
Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Mathibeli Mokhothu wrote to SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi on 3 August 2026, ahead of the 46th Ordinary Summit.
The opposition argued that the government’s continued disregard for judicial decisions had eroded the very constitutional principles the reforms were intended to strengthen.
It consequently informed SADC that it was suspending its participation in the national reforms process until the government demonstrated its commitment to complying with court orders.
However, according to the SADC communiqué released on Tuesday, the opposition’s concerns over alleged government non-compliance with court orders did not feature among the matters considered by the summit.
Nonetheless, Mr Mokhothu downplayed the omission, saying the opposition remains hopeful that SADC will eventually attend to its grievances.
Asked whether the opposition’s letter to the SADC Secretariat could taint Lesotho’s bid, Mr Tau dismissed the concern, saying SADC had bigger priorities than domestic political grievances.
“It is madness. It was made by desperate people, because SADC has no time to entertain domestic politics when people are bitter about losing elections. SADC cannot help you win elections.
These people have always tried to put Lesotho back on the SADC agenda. They think they can still do it, but it can never happen. Not every problem can be taken to SADC,” he said.
Mr Tau said it was premature for the opposition to seek SADC’s intervention in matters still before Lesotho’s courts.
“How do you report a case that is still pending before the courts to SADC? Are you suggesting SADC should micromanage a country’s internal issues?” he asked.
“I expected them to report politically related issues to SADC, but instead they reported individual cases that are still in progress. That does not mean all domestic avenues have been exhausted.
“If someone has been locked out of office, they still have the option to appeal or file a contempt case. Is it really necessary to take such matters to SADC? These are the kinds of issues that diminish our country’s standing.
“Why call on SADC when internal remedies have not been exhausted? It is all madness,” he said.
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