The Lesotho government is entertaining a motion brought by political leader Ts’epo Lipholo for the Basotho people to reclaim parts of South Africa, a move that, in a perfect world, would hold crucial implications for our neighbour’s embattled economy.
Why is Lesotho discussing a motion to reclaim parts of South Africa?
Lipholo, whose nationalist rhetoric scored his political party, the Basotho Convention Movement (BCM) a single seat in Lesotho’s parliament at the last elections, was at the centre of the contentious motion, which, miraculously, was debated on Thursday.
According to the opposition MP, two historic events gave Lesotho a legal claim over Free State and four other areas located in several of South Africa’s provinces.
The first, Lipholo claimed, was the Afrikaner invasion of these key areas which, in the 19th Century, were inhabited by the Basotho people.
The second, he added, was the 1962 United Nations resolution that recognised the independence and, most importantly, the self-determination of Basutoland from the British Crown colony.
Two years later, Lesotho was granted independence as a landlocked enclave in South Africa.
“It’s time for what is ours to be returned to us. History has a record of what was taken from our people and that people were killed in the process. It is time to correct that,” Lipholo said during an impassioned speech in Parliament.
How much land would Lesotho own if ‘reclaimed’ parts of South Africa?
Expert opinion on the Lesotho land reclaim debate leans more toward the notion that it would be impossible for South Africa to relinquish control over the areas identified by Lipholo as Basutoland.
One of the key hurdles, as Pumza Fihlani reported in a BBC Africa write-up, is the 1964 Cairo Declaration of the Organisation of African Unity, which effectively birthed the African Union, which, ironically, South Africa and Lesotho are sovereign members.
The declaration recognises the existing borders of every country within Africa as demarcations of sovereignty, irrespective of the said region’s colonial history.
According to Lipholo, however, this matters none and, in fact, the British government ought to discuss a similar motion in its parliament “since it was the UK that gave Lesotho its independence in 1966, without correcting the borders seized by the Afrikaners.”
In the unlikely event that Lesotho establishes control of the five South African areas in question, then the landlocked country would grow from 30 000km² to more than 240 000km² in size.
Not only would this allow the Basotho people more land to move freely, but also spark renewed growth in the country’s agriculture.
Of course, while the contentious motion makes for an interesting debate, it’s highly unlikely to be adopted by Lesotho’s Parliament.
Here’s what we know about Ts’epo Lipholo
Not much is known about Ts’epo Lipholo. However, from the information we’ve obtained, it’s clear the BCM leader has broken ground in Lesotho’s politics and won over support from Basotho nationalists.
Our research shows Lipholo holds a Bachelor of Public Health qualification and an LLB degree obtained from the National University of Lesotho (NUL).
According to the NUL’s Research Chair in Pension Law, Lipholo also holds:
- the Maaparankoe Mahao Memorial Award for being the best student in Human Rights Law in the Class of 2019;
- seven certificates obtained from the University of London, Washington University, University of Navara, Case Western Reserve University, University of Michigan and Macquarie University;
- certificates in diplomacy, the art of speaking, leadership, conflict resolution and negotiation, international criminal law and editing and drafting; and
- a Master of Arts candidacy in St. John Paul II Studies at St. Thomas University, Houston, Texas (USA) and an LLM candidacy at the National University of Lesotho.
In June 2021, Lipholo published his first book, Being a Champion in Life: A lesson for the People of God, which explores the life of the late Bishop Malefetsane Paul Khoarai DD.
Moreover, in October 2022, Lipholo was one of 120 members sworn into Lesotho’s parliament after his political party won 0.79% of the electoral votes.