Mantšonyane is a town in central Lesotho. It is located southeast of the capital

Maseru Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. T ...

, close to the western approach to the Mokhoabong Pass, on a high mountain plateau between the towns of Marakabei and

Thaba-Tseka Thaba-Tseka is the capital city or camptown of the Thaba-Tseka District in Lesotho. It has a population of 15,248 (2016 census). Thaba-Tseka was also the subject of the case studies in James Ferguson's book ''The Anti-Politics Machine'', which i ...

, in the Thaba-Tseka District. Located on the central mountain plateau of Lesotho, Mantšonyane is difficult to reach by ground transport. In the official biography of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was the Bishop of Lesotho in the late 1970s, the difficulty of travel around the mountainous central region of Lesotho is illustrated by a detailed account of the Bishop's journey from his official residence in Maseru to St James's Hospital in Mantšonyane.

St James' Hospital and regional health care

In 1963 the

Anglican Church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

opened, through its

USPG United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organization (registered charity no. 234518). It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Part ...

mission agency, a mission hospital in Mantšonyane. St James' Hospital has grown significantly and is now a major feature of the community. In addition to providing full hospital facilities (with 60 beds) to local residents, the hospital also operates a number of satellite health care facilities in the surrounding region, including six health centres, one health clinic, and two rural village health posts. For many years resident doctors and matrons were provided through the Anglican

Diocese of Lesotho The Diocese of Lesotho is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It comprises the entire nation of Lesotho. It is divided in three archdeaconries, Central Lesotho, Northern Lesotho and Southern Lesotho. The former bishop is Adam Taas ...

and through USPG. The hospital buildings were largely constructed and staffed through USPG fundraising. Today USPG remains a mission partner, although the mission agency contributes chiefly through its hospital based "USPG connect project" for mothers and babies. Lesotho has a very high

infant mortality rate Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...

. The hospital was connected to electricity for the first time in 1986, and to the landline telephone network in 2000.Hospital historical timeline availabl
here

Community facilities

The Anglican Diocese of Lesotho constructed and runs the parish church of St James and also St James' primary school. Both are located adjacent to St James' Mission Hospital. There is a local police station of the

Lesotho Mounted Police Service The Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) is the national police force of the Southern African Kingdom of Lesotho. History The police service was established in 1872, with an initial strength of 110 men. It adopted military discipline and, from ...

Mantšonyane Airport Mantšonyane Airport is an airport serving the town of Mantšonyane in Thaba-Tseka District, Lesotho. The runway is on a low ridge in a dry oxbow off the Mantšonyane River. There is a hill at the north end of the runway, and higher terrain in ...

has a 2,300 foot paved runway.

Notable residents

Sam Matekane Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane (born 15 March 1958) is a Mosotho businessman and politician who is serving as Prime Minister of Lesotho as of 28 October 2022. Prior to running he was considered to be the richest person in the country. Matekane has made ...

, a businessman and politician who is currently serving as

prime minister of Lesotho This is a list of prime ministers of Lesotho () since the formation of the post of Prime Minister of Lesotho in 1965, to the present day. A total of seven people have served as Prime Minister of Lesotho (not counting one Acting Prime Minister a ...

, was born in the town in 1958.

References

*Fitzpatrick, M., Blond, B., Pitcher, G., Richmond, S., and Warren, M. (2004) ''South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.'' Footscray, VIC: Lonely Planet. {{reflist Populated places in Thaba-Tseka District Thaba-Tseka District