Hopolang Mokhopi
TŠEPO Lipholo, the 51-year-old leader of the Basotho Covenant Movement (BCM), has been taken into custody and charged with sedition.
He appeared before the Maseru Magistrate Court on Friday where Magistrate Itumeleng Letsika and Crown Prosecutor Hlophe formally presented the charges against him during the hearing.
In addition to the sedition charge, Dr Lipholo faces charges of incitement and contempt of court, stemming from statements deemed disrespectful towards the Royal Family.
Due to the nature of the sedition charge, he is expected to remain in custody through the weekend.
During the court session, Magistrate Letsika clarified that the Magistrates Court lacks the authority to hear a bail application for a sedition charge.
Consequently, Dr Lipholo must seek bail from the High Court. His legal team, comprising Advocates Fusi Sehapi, Potsane, and Lesenyeho, raised points of law and requested that the court refers the matter to the High Court for further determination.
According to the charge sheet, the first count accuses Dr Lipholo of unlawfully and intentionally uttering seditious statements between April and June 2025, at an unspecified location in Maseru district.
These statements were allegedly made with the intent to incite hatred or contempt against the King or the Government of Lesotho.
Specifically, he is accused of attempting to incite the people and residents of Lesotho to unlawfully seek the annexation of Lesotho as the 10th province of South Africa.
Count II charges the accused with unlawfully and intentionally committing an act calculated to violate the dignity and reputation of the Royal Family. This count alleges he claimed to be the paramount chief of Basotholand while His Majesty King Letsie III remains the reigning monarch of Lesotho.
In Count III, the charge sheet states that the accused allegedly claimed Lesotho had been signed over to South Africa as its 10th province by the government and His Majesty the King.
In his defense, Advocate Potsane challenged the court’s jurisdiction to remand his client, arguing that Dr Lipholo was brought before the court more than 48 hours after his arrest, a potential procedural violation.
Advocate Potsane also questioned the prosecution’s authority to charge Dr Lipholo, noting that the Director of Public Prosecutions, who typically issues directives, is currently suspended.
He argued this situation raises serious questions about the Crown Prosecutor’s power to pursue the case.
Magistrate Itumeleng Letsika declined to refer to the defense’s constitutional question regarding jurisdiction to the High Court.
“I decline the referral and continue to remand the accused,” Magistrate Letsika said.
She reiterated that the Magistrates Court cannot grant bail for a sedition charge, saying Dr Lipholo should apply at the High Court.
Dr Lipholo has been remanded into custody and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on July 15, 2025.
