‘Mathapelo Lipholo, wife of Basotho Covenant Movement (BCM) leader and opposition MP Dr. Tšepo Lipholo, has filed a High Court application urging the United Nations (UN) Security Council to provide her husband with personal security.
The request, lodged this week, seeks protection for Dr. Lipholo pending the resolution of his controversial Basutoland restoration petition before the UN General Assembly.
In March this year, Newsday reported that Lipholo had ignited controversy with a petition claiming that every Lesotho government since independence in 1966 has been a puppet regime controlled by Pretoria, South Africa.
A full copy of the petition, obtained by Newsday, accused successive administrations, including the current one led by Prime Minister Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane, of bowing to South African influence, thwarting efforts to reclaim what Lipholo calls the “Conquered Territory” of Basotho.
This territory, lost to colonial and Boer encroachments decades ago, includes the entire Free State province and parts of other South African provinces.
Lipholo alleged that this puppetry explains why Lesotho has never fought to restore these lands, as allegedly mandated by UN resolutions.
His campaign hinges on a historical grievance dating back to the 1800s, when Basotho lands were reduced through wars with Boer settlers and British colonial agreements.
The 1869 Convention of Aliwal North formalised these losses and ceded vast territories to what is now South Africa. When Lesotho gained independence from Britain in 1966, it inherited these diminished borders, a decision reinforced by the Organisation of African Unity’s (OAU) 1963 pledge to respect colonial boundaries.
Lipholo’s petition, reportedly submitted to the UN General Assembly and Security Council earlier this year, invokes UN Resolutions which he says urged Britain to address Basotho land claims before independence, a call he says was ignored, leaving the issue unresolved.
His claims echo long-standing nationalist sentiments among some Basotho groups who believe that Lesotho should reclaim its pre-colonial boundaries.
According to ‘Mathapelo, both Lesotho and South African authorities now want to arrest her husband for pursuing redress through the UN.
She wants the court to bar either government from arresting anyone for seeking remedies through the UN or other legal avenues.
She also seeks an interdict against alleged ongoing South African discussions to offer Lesotho citizens special movement privileges or to incorporate Lesotho as its 10th province — actions she says constitute aggression under international law and violate UN Charter Article 39.
“I am suing in terms of Section 22 of the Constitution, in my personal and representative capacity, because my husband’s life and liberty are in peril,” ‘Mathapelo stated. She claimed that Dr Lipholo is currently in hiding, allegedly being hunted by both Lesotho and South African authorities, and even Interpol.
She recounted how, since becoming an MP in 2022, Dr Lipholo has tabled several motions demanding Lesotho assert its full independence and claim back historical territory, as defined in the country’s Constitution.
One of those motions allegedly called on Lesotho’s government to enforce a UN Security Council resolution ordering South Africa to pay M42 million in damages for a 1982 cross-border military raid that killed ANC refugees and Basotho civilians.
Although Parliament adopted that motion, ‘Mathapelo said the government failed to act. She claimed South Africa continues to ignore UN resolutions, including listing Lesotho as a province in public documents.
She added that efforts by her husband to bring these issues before Parliament, including urging South Africa to withdraw such misrepresentations, have been ignored.
“Failure to implement these UN resolutions has left Basotho families, especially those who lost loved ones in 1982, without justice or compensation,” she said.
‘Mathapelo further alleged new atrocities, including the killing of Lesotho citizens at an abandoned mine in Stilfontein in 2024. Dr Lipholo reportedly visited the site and tried to rally parliamentary support for victims, again to no avail.
She said her husband has repeatedly pushed Parliament to enforce UN General Assembly Resolutions 1954 (XVIII) of 1963 and 1817 (XVII) of 1962, which she claims support Basotho self-determination and call for the return of their territory.
In December 2024, she said, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, during a visit to Lesotho, reiterated Basotho’s “inalienable right to self-determination,” and warned against any attempt to annex the territory.
Despite these international positions, ‘Mathapelo said successive South African governments — from Nelson Mandela to Cyril Ramaphosa — have ignored UN mandates and continued human rights violations, such as detaining Basotho citizens as “illegal immigrants.”
She stated that many Basotho are currently imprisoned in South Africa for simply trying to return home, and described these actions as unlawful occupation of Basotho land.
She said in January 2025, Dr Lipholo submitted a formal petition to the UN General Assembly and Security Council, requesting the enforcement of prior resolutions.
She explained that the petition was served on the Prime Minister of Lesotho and President of South Africa, as well as on the UK and Northern Ireland governments.
She said the petition remains under review by relevant UN committees. While South Africa has yet to respond formally, Lesotho’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Lejone Mpotjoane, publicly rejected the petition and labeled Dr Lipholo’s actions as potentially treasonous.
“The Lesotho government has not only failed to protect my husband’s rights but is actively threatening him for seeking international remedies,” ‘Mathapelo said.
She added that public support for Dr Lipholo has grown, with some even nominating him as the future king of Basotholand, a symbolic gesture tied to his push for sovereignty and historical justice.
In his petition, Lipholo also claimed that: “Ever since 1966, South African government has been putting its own proxy governments in Lesotho whose leaders all had to report in Pretoria.”
He added: “This has naturally resulted in all these proxy South African governments resisting to ensure the enforcement of the UN Resolutions, namely; granting of the full self-determination to the inhabitants and the return of all their land in the territorial Boundaries of Basutoland as directed.”
Lesotho, a landlocked kingdom entirely surrounded by South Africa, relies heavily on its neighbour for trade, jobs, and infrastructure.
Lipholo cited a specific example to bolster his case that Lesotho is subjugated: a motion he introduced in Lesotho’s parliament on April 24, 2023, (Motion No. 8 on Reclamation of Lesotho Territory), which faced fierce opposition.
“Lesotho parliament’s heavy resistance of the Motion put by Petitioner to declare such territorial boundaries as ruled by this Assembly,” he wrote. He said some MPs suggested negotiating with South Africa for the land’s return, a proposal he deems unlawful.
“This matter is res judicata, the UN has already ruled South Africa an aggressor and ordered the land’s return. Lesotho has no business negotiating with them.”
He argued that such talks would undermine UN authority, render its resolutions toothless, and set a dangerous precedent under international law, and allow powerful states like South Africa to bully smaller nations unchecked.
“Needless to say that the said motion was finally frustrated and lost and such government has not even made endeavours to initiate such so-called negotiations with the said South African government,” he said.
In a bid to prove Lesotho’s subjugation, Lipholo made another bombshell claim.
“Most members of these proxy governments, in the Executive as ministers, in the judiciary, and in both houses of parliament—are South African citizens.” He alleged that many MPs and Senators hold South African identity cards, some even commuting daily from South Africa, creating a blatant conflict of interest.
This, he said, violates Section 59 of Lesotho’s Constitution, which disqualifies anyone pledging allegiance to a foreign state from serving in parliament.
However, in a partial backtrack, he called on the UN to compel both governments to disclose which parliamentarians hold dual citizenship.
He asserted that MPs and senators have to reveal this, as their votes against Basotho interests align with their allegiance to South Africa.
“It is clear that such MPs and Senators have violated the provisions of the very Constitution which they are supposed to uphold and RSA has a duty to disclose their citizenship as we have a reason to believe that they have misused their positions to vote against the interests of indigenous inhabitants of Lesotho for the implementation of the Resolutions of this General Assembly when they owe their allegiance to a foreign government being RSA,” he said.
Relebohile Makhetha is a court and crime reporter based in Maseru. She has been working at Newsday since 2024. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Communication from Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (2024) and a Diploma in Mass Communication from the National University of Lesotho (Institute of Extra-Mural Studies, 2018).
