VZCZCXRO9217
PP RUEHMR
DE RUEHMR #0153/01 0821226
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P R 231226Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY MASERU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1963
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 2228

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MASERU 000153 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR AF/S 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  3/22/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KHIV EAID LT
SUBJECT: MEETING WITH LESOTHO'S "FIRST LADY" 
 
REF: MASERU 124 AND PREVIOUS 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: JUNE CARTER PERRY, AMBASSADOR, EXEC, STATE. 
REASON: 1.4 (d) 
 
Summary 
-------------- 
 
¶1.  (C) The First Lady of Lesotho shared her views of the 
current political situation and the status of HIV/AIDS programs 
in Lesotho during a lengthy discussion with Ambassador on March 
¶21.  Mrs. Mosisili is considered one of the most influential 
women and, de facto, one of the most important leaders in 
Lesotho not only because of her derived authority as wife of the 
Prime Minister, but because of her continued role in supporting 
anti-AIDS campaigns across the country.  Mrs. Mosisili reflected 
on the internal dissention brought on in light of the attack on 
the Foreign Minister in January of this year and expressed 
regret that her country continued to have this kind of 
disruption.  She called for peace and security in the future and 
also stated her appreciation for the pre-electoral, conflict 
resolution support the U.S. has provided and that of the 
international community as a whole. On the HIV/AIDS challenge, 
the First Lady reiterated her personal commitment to support our 
efforts through the Ambassador's Girls' Scholarship Program and 
our outreach to local and international organizations through 
the PEPFAR program.  She also expressed interest in the 
Embassy's upcoming book donations to schools around the country. 
 End Summary 
 
Political Climate as Viewed by the First Lady 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
-------- 
 
¶2.  (C) Ambassador called on Mrs. Mosisili as a follow up to our 
on-going discussions at the UN Expanded Theme Group on HIV/AIDS 
which the U.S. co-chairs.  Our discussion began, however, with 
consideration of the current political climate in the Mountain 
Kingdom.  We focused on the reverberation of the assault on the 
Foreign Minister earlier this year.  The First Lady regretted 
the division she saw reflected in this "unacceptable" act.  She 
went on to say that, historically, Lesotho had faced disruption, 
but she found it especially distressing that after nearly 40 
years of independence, such political disagreements could 
persist.  She suggested the impact of this situation has taken 
its toll on the country's Ruling Congress for Democracy headed 
by her husband.  Looking towards the 2007 elections, we asked if 
there would be a peaceful progression, given the current state 
of affairs.  The First Lady emphasized the Prime Minister's 
commitment to security and she welcomed any support the donor 
community could provide to Lesotho as it began preparations for 
this major national event.  Ambassador observed that the donor 
community had already agreed pre-electoral training and observer 
involvement was needed.  (Comment:  While Mrs. Mosisili is not 
an elected leader, her opinions carry weight throughout the 
country.  She is highly regarded for her many years as a senior 
education official and for her subdued, but confident manner. 
End Comment) 
 
HIV/AIDS, AGSP and USG Book Donation 
--------------------------------------------- -------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) Moving to the overwhelming issue of HIV/AIDS, with 
Lesotho having the 3rd highest prevalence rate in the world, she 
welcomed the naming of the Chair of the National AIDS Commission 
(NAC) and indicated her continued commitment to support the 
government, civil society and the private sector in this 
critical battle.  In response to our statement on the NAC and 
donor coordination, the First Lady said that she was very 
pleased that the U.S., the UN, and the EU, had taken the 
initiative to open a dialogue with the recently named Chair, Mr. 
Thabo Makeka, a lawyer in Lesotho.  She also commented that 
since this was the first time that both Mr. Makeka as well as 
the CEO of the NAC, Kekeletso Sefeane, were both on board, it 
would take time for them to fully activate the machinery 
necessary to reach out to all segments of the country and to all 
the partners in addressing the HIV/AIDS challenge.  (Note: 
Reportedly, Mrs. Mosisili was one of the driving forces behind 
the establishment of a NAC, a process that took years.  She 
initiated her drive because of the Ministry of Health's failure 
to fully handle the pandemic.  End Note) 
 
¶4.  (C) The First Lady alluded to our Girls' Scholarship Program 
and commented on how successful she felt it had been and how 
pleased she had been to host approximately 30 of the recipients, 
at our request, last year at the State House.  We thanked her 
and asked her if she would be willing to participate in our 
efforts to reach many more students throughout Lesotho with a 
major book donation including educational materials on HIV/AIDS. 
 She responded that she would be very happy to be present at 
both the launching of the donation in Lesotho's capital, Maseru, 
as well as to participate in our outreach to the rural areas. 
 
MASERU 00000153  002 OF 002 
 
 
She also agreed to use several of the books in her own work with 
social workers and community organizations across the country. 
The First Lady reiterated her desire to remain an active member 
of the HIV/AIDS Theme Group, although she indicated she could 
not be present for our next meeting (March 30) because of an 
official trip to Oman.  She planned, in the coming months, to 
continue with her visible presence at the combined private and 
public sector meetings. 
 
Comment 
-------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) It is important for us to maintain the open dialogue 
that we have with Mrs. Mosisili.  It is our understanding that 
her comments and advice to the Prime Minister remain extremely 
important, both in the leadership role he also has taken in the 
HIV/AIDS arena and in the political sphere as well.  We wanted, 
during this most recent conversation, to underline the 
importance of democracy and security as we have been doing over 
the past several weeks with various members of the Cabinet. 
Looking toward the future, Mrs. Mosisili will be an important 
player, as her husband mounts his campaign in an environment of 
political angst within the LCD.  We view her as a voice of 
reason and as a reassuring figure on the public scene at all 
times, and we consider her capable ties to local communities 
across the country as potential avenues for broadcasting the 
message of peace, security and stability.  Mrs. Mosisili has 
been very gracious in granting her time and lending her moral 
support to USG programs, thus heightening their visibility.  We 
expect to continue our exchanges with her over the coming months 
as Lesotho takes on not only the hard work of institutionalizing 
democracy, but, also, more effective handling of the HIV/AIDS 
crises.  End Comment. 
PERRY