On 4 October 2025, Basotho will gather once again to commemorate a milestone: 59 years since Lesotho freed itself from the grip of colonial rule. Independence Day is always a proud reminder of the courage of our ancestors, who resisted dispossession and fought to preserve our dignity as a nation. In 1966, when the Union Jack was lowered and our own flag was raised, the hope was that this small kingdom would finally chart its own destiny, free from foreign control.
But nearly six decades later, we must pause and ask a sobering question: what has this independence truly delivered to the ordinary Mosotho?
Yes, the colonial masters left. But the spirit of colonialism, the domination of the many by a privileged few, did not. It simply changed hands. Instead of foreign rulers, it is now Basotho elites who hold the power, wealth, and opportunities of the nation in their grip.
In every era since independence, Basotho have been promised progress and prosperity. Leaders have spoken the language of development, of service, of lifting the nation out of poverty. But, for the majority, life has remained stubbornly the same.
The privileged few present themselves as trustees of the people’s welfare. They claim to be caretakers of the poor, to know what is best for the suffering, to hold the solutions to the nation’s challenges. But this so-called trusteeship has never been about the people. It has been about consolidating their own power, securing their dominance, and building systems that protect their privilege.
When the ordinary Mosotho looks around, at the state of our schools, our hospitals, our roads, our fields, the evidence is clear. Trusteeship is a bluff. It is a mask that hides greed and selfishness.
Fifty-nine years of independence should have meant progress, dignity, and opportunity for all. Instead, it has meant disappointment for many.
Economically, Lesotho remains fragile, its people are trapped in cycles of poverty. Families survive on remittances from South Africa or scrape by on subsistence farming. Youth unemployment continues to rise and robs an entire generation of hope.
Socially, inequality is stark. A small group lives comfortably while the majority endure water shortages, hunger, and dilapidated services. Women and girls, in particular, remain disproportionately burdened by poverty and gender-based violence.
Politically, power has been treated as personal property. Leaders have focused on enriching themselves rather than transforming lives. Corruption, nepotism, and waste have become normalised, defended as “politics as usual” while communities are left behind.
Independence was meant to liberate the people. Instead, it has given freedom only to a select few, freedom to enrich themselves, freedom to resist accountability, and freedom to perpetuate inequality.
The greatest tragedy is not only the behaviour of the privileged few, but also the silence of the majority. For too long, Basotho have been misled into celebrating symbols of independence while ignoring its substance. Flags are raised, speeches delivered, parades held, yet the lives of ordinary people remain shackled.
But awakening is possible. It begins with seeing the trusteeship for what it is: not service, but domination. It begins with demanding accountability, refusing to be placated by empty promises, and recognising that democracy means participation, not blind loyalty to politicians.
The independence struggle was never meant to end in 1966. It was meant to continue, from resisting colonialism to resisting inequality, from fighting foreign domination to fighting domestic exploitation.
If Lesotho is to claim true freedom, a new chapter must be written. That chapter must focus on dismantling privilege and creating a nation where every Mosotho has an equal stake in the country’s future.
It begins with justice in the economy, by building industries that create decent jobs, supporting farmers who sustain our people, and ensuring that the nation’s resources are used for the public good rather than private enrichment. It also demands accountable leadership, where the culture of impunity is ended and leaders are held answerable for corruption, failure, and betrayal of public trust.
True independence further requires active citizenship, where Basotho no longer see themselves as passive bystanders but as participants in shaping the destiny of their country. It calls for equality and dignity, so that women, young people, and marginalised groups are not left behind, but enjoy the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
Above all, it requires a moral renewal, a rejection of greed, nepotism, and waste, and the embrace of service, solidarity, and integrity as the foundation of leadership and nationhood.
Independence is not a date we mark once a year. It is not secured by speeches or national ceremonies. Independence is a living struggle, fought every day in the choices we make as a nation.
We are independent only if the child in Mokhotlong has the same chance of education as the child in Maseru. We are independent only if a farmer in Quthing can sell produce without being cheated. We are independent only if a young woman can dream freely, unburdened by poverty, violence, or exclusion.
Until then, we remain trapped in a false independence, free from Britain, but captive to our own privileged few.
As Basotho celebrate 59 years of independence, let us honour the past with pride but confront the present with courage. The colonial masters are gone, but their place has been taken by elites who have betrayed the promise of freedom. The task of our generation is to reclaim independence from the privileged few, and to build a Lesotho where sovereignty is not just a flag, but a lived reality of dignity, opportunity, and justice for all.
Only then will Lesotho be truly free.
Summary
- Independence Day is always a proud reminder of the courage of our ancestors, who resisted dispossession and fought to preserve our dignity as a nation.
- They claim to be caretakers of the poor, to know what is best for the suffering, to hold the solutions to the nation’s challenges.
- That chapter must focus on dismantling privilege and creating a nation where every Mosotho has an equal stake in the country’s future.
Lesotho activist and journalist who is the Chairperson of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Lesotho. He is an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumnus.
Boloetse is driven by the need to protect and promote the rights of others, especially the marginalized segment of society. He rose to prominence as an activist in 2018 when he wrote to Lesotho communications Authority (LCA) asking it to order Econet Telecom Lesotho (ETL) and Vodacom Lesotho (VCL) to stop charging expensive out-of-bundle rates for data when customers’ data bundles get depleted.
