Lesotho Petitions UN To Reclaim Free State Province, Other South African Lands Lost To Colonial Rule
The disputed territory includes the entire Free State province, along with parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape in South Africa.
The Kingdom of Lesotho has filed a petition with the United Nations seeking the return of land it lost during the colonial era.
The disputed territory includes the entire Free State province, along with parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape in South Africa.
The petition, titled “Petition to the United Nations for Implementation of UN Resolutions on Recognition of Basutoland’s Conquered Territory,” was submitted by Honourable Reverend Dr Tsepo Lipholo, a Member of Lesotho’s Parliament and leader of the Basotho Covenant Movement (BCM).
The document was addressed to multiple bodies, including the UN General Assembly, the Security Council, and the governments of the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Lesotho.
Professor Kedibone Phago of North West University has expressed scepticism about the petition’s prospects. He stated, “Lesotho’s case has little chance of success.”
According to the petition, “On or about the 17th December 1963, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution No. 1954(XVII) in which it recalled its previous Resolutions 1817 of December 1962 regarding the Conquered Territories of Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland.”
It further referenced UN Resolutions 1514 of 14 December 1960 and 1654 of November 1961, emphasising that “the General Assembly in Resolution 1954 of 1963 resolved, inter alia, as follows.”
Lesotho’s claim is rooted in historical treaties and international resolutions that the petition argues have yet to be fully implemented. Dr Lipholo’s document appeals to the UN to recognise these territories as unlawfully taken from Basutoland, the former name of Lesotho before its independence in 1966.
The government of South Africa has not officially responded to the petition.
However, legal experts note that reversing historical territorial changes would require complex diplomatic negotiations and could set a precedent for other post-colonial border disputes.
Despite the legal hurdles, the Basotho Covenant Movement insists that “the land in question rightfully belongs to the Basotho people and must be returned under international law.”
Observers believe that even if the UN acknowledges the petition, achieving any tangible territorial change remains highly unlikely without South Africa’s cooperation.
