Mohloai Mpesi
THE Basotho Covenant Movement (BCM) leader, Dr Tšepo Lipholo, is facing charges of incitement, provocation of peace, and contempt for allegedly disrespecting the Royal Family.
According to Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) Deputy Spokesperson, Inspector ‘Mareabetsoe Mofoka, Dr Lipholo is accused of making inflammatory and disrespectful remarks about the Royal Family on various public platforms.
Dr Lipholo, who has reportedly been in self-imposed exile since the beginning of the year, was arrested yesterday morning at his Qoaling residence by members of the LMPS, the Special Operations Unit (SOU), and the Lesotho Defence Force (LDF).
The heavily armed officers reportedly surrounded his home before making the arrest.
The dramatic nature of the arrest drew a crowd of curious neighbours, many of whom expressed support for Dr Lipholo’s campaign to reclaim what he refers to as “conquered territories”—including the Free State, parts of KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and the Eastern Cape.
Also present were the opposition’s Basotho National Party (BNP) leader Machesetsa Mofomobe and the Yearn for Economic Sustainability (YES) Molefi Ntšonyane who both said they stood in support of Dr Lipholo and criticised the government for “trying to silence a man fighting for Basotho”.
According to bystanders, members of the armed forces arrived as early as 5am. When the Lesotho Times crew arrived at around 9am, they were met with a tense atmosphere, with armed officers surrounding the yard while others moved in and out of the house.
Shortly thereafter, a white 4×4 vehicle sped out of the yard, only to return around 11am at the same high speed. It was then that Dr Lipholo, along with his belongings, including computers, was whisked away in a convoy consisting of two 4×4 vehicles and a Quantum minibus.
By that time, a large crowd had gathered outside Dr Lipholo’s yard, shouting in solidarity that they would stand with him because they “want their land back.”
Insp Mofoka said Dr Lipholo was facing three charges.
“He is in police custody, accused of contravening Section 79 and Section 85 of the Penal Code. Section 79 talks about being contemptuous to the Royal Family, while Section 85 relates to inciting violence,” Insp Mofoka said.
Inspector Mofoka further explained that Dr Lipholo is suspected of having repeatedly made public remarks that show contempt and disrespect towards the Royal Family.
Among those remarks, she said, were unfounded claims that His Majesty had signed an agreement allowing Lesotho to become South Africa’s 10th province.
She stated that in other instances, Dr Lipholo claimed that Lesotho is his birth country and declared his intention to rule it.
“On the issue of being contemptuous to the Royal Family, it is whereby he said His Majesty signed for Lesotho to become the 10th province of South Africa, but there are no such issues. He said ‘naha ena kea habo,’ meaning this is his birth country, and he is going to rule it. All these statements, made on different platforms, are humiliating, contemptuous, and disrespectful to the Royal Family.
“In his statements, without quoting him word for word, but in general, there are parts where he is inciting violence. That is why there are people who follow him and believe in what he says based on how he expresses himself in public.
“Maybe the charges will increase, but I do not know because I am not the investigator of the case. For now, we have arrested him based on these charges.”
