APA-Maseru (Lesotho) Lesotho’s parliament is on Wednesday expected to discuss a motion to annex parts of South Africa that the kingdom claims were once its territory.
According to reports monitored here quoting an order paper published by the National Assembly of Lesotho, parliamentarians would debate whether to approve or not a motion by Tšepo Lipholo, leader of the opposition Lesotho Covenant Movement, to reclaim territory that he claims belonged to the kingdom.
The Lesotho authorities would want to reclaim what they claim is the country’s former territory that was annexed into five of South Africa’s nine provinces.
“Motion: Reclamation of Lesotho Territory: That this Honourable House resolves, pursuant to Section 1(2) of the Constitution, to declare the whole of the Free State, parts of the Northern Cape, parts of the Eastern Cape, parts of Mpumalanga and parts of KwaZulu-Natal as comprising the territory of the Kingdom of Lesotho in line with the United Nations Resolution 1817 (XVII) passed by the General Assembly at its 1196th Plenary Meeting on 18th December 1962,” read the order paper.
The UN resolution declared parts of South Africa as belonging to Lesotho.
Historically, the Basotho were found in the Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and parts of KwaZulu-Natal. But, because of forced migration during wars, they were forced to move north to present-day Lesotho.
JN/APA