Lesotho’s parliament will over the next two weeks discuss a motion to annex parts of South Africa that the kingdom claims were once its territory, according to reports monitored here on Friday.
The reports, quoting a notice gazetted this week, said the Lesotho government would want to reclaim its former territory in five of South Africa’s nine provinces.
“The Honourable House resolves, pursuant of 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,” the notice said.
The motion is in fulfilment of the United Nations Resolution 1817 (XVII) passed by the General UN Assembly in December 1962, which declared parts of South Africa as belonging to Lesotho.
The motion was pushed for by Tšepo Lipholo, the leader of the opposition Lesotho Covenant Movement.
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