Lesotho Opposition Leader Faces Treason Charge

A member of the opposition in Lesotho is awaiting trial on treason charges that include allegations that he had recruited young Basotho men for military training on farms in South Africa.

Tšepo Lipholo, leader of the Basotho Covenant Movement, was arrested in July 2025 after members of the Lesotho Defence Force and Lesotho Mounted Police Service confiscated computers and other equipment from his home.

He was initially charged with sedition, incitement and contempt of court. He is accused of making statements intended to incite hatred or contempt against King Letsie III or the government of Lesotho between April and June 2025, and encouraging Basotho to seek the annexation of Lesotho as South Africa’s 10th province. He was also accused of claiming to be the paramount chief of Basotholand.

Lipholo is known for his controversial political campaign to “reclaim territories” he argues historically belonged to Basutoland before independence in 1966. He has repeatedly called for the return of the Free State and parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape to Lesotho.

After spending months in custody, Lipholo was granted bail in December.

Speaking to GroundUp, police spokesperson Superintendent Thabo Mohai declined to discuss police findings, citing ongoing court proceedings.

The latest charges added to Lipholo’s case link him to the allegations first raised last year by Lesotho’s security agencies, regarding the existence of military training camps on farms in South Africa.

In July 2025, the heads of Lesotho’s security agencies convened an extraordinary joint press conference in Maseru, warning that a group known as Malata Naha (land reclaimers) was recruiting Basotho young people and sending them for military-style training on farms in South Africa.

But following investigations by South African intelligence structures and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks), the South African Police Service said it had found no evidence that illegal military camps were operating on South African farms.

Court documents filed at Maseru Magistrate Court show that the state has since added a treason charge. It is among the most serious offences under Lesotho law, carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment or death by hanging.

According to the charge sheet, Lipholo is accused of acting with several associates between April and June 2025 with the intention of overthrowing or coercing the government of Lesotho.

Among those named in the charge sheet is former police officer Mpiti Thamae.

The state will argue that Lipholo and his co-accused travelled to Mohale’s Hoek, where they met with residents and traditional leaders, seeking support to have him declared king of a territory in South Africa that he claims was part of Basutoland before 4 October 1966.

The charge sheet further states that Lipholo recruited Basotho men aged between 18 and 35 across all districts of Lesotho, except Mokhotlong, to do military training conducted by Thamae in South Africa.

According to the court papers, the purpose of the training was to prepare recruits to “forcefully reclaim” territory from South Africa.

The state further accuses Lipholo of preparing or possessing plans for a shadow cabinet to be inaugurated, commissioning a national anthem, and designing a national flag for the territory.

A hearing date has not yet been set.

By GroundUp.