Lesotho–South Africa relations refers to the current and historical
bilateral relations of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
and
Lesotho
Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...
. Lesotho, which is surrounded by South Africa, depends on South Africa for most of its economic affairs, and its foreign policy is often aligned with that of Pretoria. Both are member states of the
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...
,
African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
,
Southern African Customs Union
The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is a customs union among five countries of Southern Africa: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. Its headquarters are in the Namibian capital, Windhoek. It was established in 1910.
H ...
and
Southern African Development Community
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.
Goals
The SADC's goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and se ...
. Lesotho, along with
Eswatini
Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...
, have been described as
satellite states of South Africa.
History
The area known as Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa. Lesotho (then
Basutoland
Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho, bordered with the Cape Colony, Natal Colony and Orange River Colony until 1910 and completely surrounded by South Africa from 1910. Though the Basot ...
, a
British protectorate
British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...
) was annexed to the
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...
in 1871, but became separate again (as a
crown colony
A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by Kingdom of England, England, and then Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English overseas possessions, English and later British Empire. There was usua ...
) in 1884. When the
Union of South Africa
The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...
was formed in 1910, there were moves by the UK to include Lesotho. However, in October 1966, the Kingdom gained full independence. Despite formal independence, the white-controlled government in South Africa played a major role in its neighbour's economic and political affairs, including supporting the government of Lesotho Prime Minister Chief
Leabua Jonathan
Joseph Leabua Jonathan (30 October 1914 – 5 April 1987) was the first prime minister of Lesotho. He succeeded Chief Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane following a by-election and held that post from 1965 to 1986.
Early life and career
Born in L ...
. In 1986, South Africa supported the
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup
, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
in Lesotho which brought
Justin Lekhanya to power. In turn, Lekhanya's government expelled
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...
members as well as technicians from
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
, which led to significantly better relations between the two countries.
Post-apartheid relations
South Africa held its first
democratic elections in 1994.
In September 1998, South Africa led a
military intervention in Lesotho in the name of SADC, after post-election rioting and rumours of a possible coup. SADC troops withdrew from Lesotho in May of the following year.
Since then, South Africa's influence in Lesotho has grown. It is involved with the
Lesotho Highlands Water Project
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is an ongoing water supply project with a hydropower component, developed in partnership between the governments of Lesotho and South Africa. It comprises a system of several large dams and tunnels t ...
, an ongoing water supply and hydro-power project. In August 2010, South African President
Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...
led a group of investors and politicians to Lesotho, where they discussed bilateral cooperation as well as regional political developments.
While in Lesotho in 2010, Zuma visited the
Katse Dam
The Katse Dam, a concrete arch dam on the Malibamat'so River in Lesotho, is Africa's second largest double-curvature arch dam after the Tekezé Dam in Ethiopia. Located just below the confluence of the Bokong River, which forms the western arm ...
and addressed a joint session of the
Parliament of Lesotho
The Parliament of Lesotho () is the national legislature of Lesotho and consists of two chambers: the Senate (upper chamber) and the National Assembly (lower chamber).
See also
* Politics of Lesotho
*List of legislatures by country
External ...
.
Annexation proposals
With decolonisation,
Bechuanaland and Basutoland became independent in 1966 as the Republic of Botswana and the Kingdom of Lesotho, respectively. They were followed in 1968 by Swaziland, now known as Eswatini. South Africa hoped to get control of these three states, but the British government had made commitments to respect the interests of the black African inhabitants which would not be kept by handing them over to Apartheid South Africa.
In 2010, trade unionist Vuyani Tyhali started a petition in support of annexation, saying: "We have 30,000 signatures. Lesotho is not just landlocked – it is South Africa-locked. We were a labour reserve for apartheid South Africa. There is no reason for us to exist any longer as a nation with its own currency and army". Ntate Manyanye, a charity director, cited the AIDS epidemic as a reason why Lesotho could no longer survive as an independent country: "Lesotho is fighting for survival. We have a population of about 1.9 million but there may be as many as 400,000 AIDS orphans among us. Life expectancy has fallen to 34. We are desperate".
In 2023, Lesotho's parliament debated demanding the territory of Free State and other Basotho lands from South Africa. This was after, in 2022, Tshepo Lipholo, a member of the Basotho Convention Movement, was
elected to Parliament, the only member of the party to be elected. Their platform is based on the idea that the land of the
Basotho
The Sotho (), also known as the Basotho (), are a Sotho-Tswana ethnic group indigenous to Southern Africa. They primarily inhabit the regions of Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.
The ancestors of the Sotho people are believed to h ...
, the main ethnic group in Lesotho, needs to be returned to the nation, given that it was taken in the 19th century by the
Afrikaners
Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch people, Dutch Settler colonialism, settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in Free Burghers in the Dutch Cape Colony, 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. '' ...
. Previous groups had attempted to contact the Queen requesting to make Lesotho a tenth province of South Africa. Many Basotho live in South Africa, and many also depend on South Africa for jobs. However, South African officials said that they would not support the annexation as it was not supported by a majority.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesotho - South Africa Relations
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
Bilateral relations of South Africa
Lesotho and the Commonwealth of Nations
South Africa and the Commonwealth of Nations