…after flying to Israel despite bail conditions barring him from leaving Lesotho
…as police raid his homestead again
Mohloai Mpesi
BASOTHO Covenant Movement (BCM) leader, Dr Tšepo Lipholo, risks being re-arrested when he returns to Lesotho after allegedly travelling to Israel in breach of bail conditions barring him from leaving the country.
The treason accused politician allegedly obtained his ordinary passport from the police last week on the understanding that he was going to neighbouring South Africa to consult his doctor.
Instead, police say they were shocked to learn that he had travelled to Israel to attend the International Ambassadors Summit in Jerusalem.
Police subsequently raided his Qoaling homestead on Tuesday looking for him, only to be told by his family that he was still in hospital in Bloemfontein.
However, BCM Youth League President, Maweshi Maroibaki, confirmed to the Lesotho Times yesterday that Dr Lipholo was in Israel.
“He arrived on Sunday evening at around 22:00,” Mr Maroibaki said.
The development could put Dr Lipholo in direct conflict with the conditions under which he was granted bail.
Court application
Dr Lipholo allegedly travelled to Israel while his High Court application seeking permission to visit the country was still pending.
In an application filed on 16 September 2026, Dr Lipholo asked the High Court to review and set aside a decision by the Chief of Police, Advocate Borotho Matsoso, refusing to temporarily release his ordinary passport so that he could attend an official summit in Jerusalem.
Dr Lipholo is the sole applicant, while Adv Matsoso and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) are cited as the first and second respondents.
He also asked the court to order the Chief of Police to release his passport from 1 October to 12 October 2026.
In his founding affidavit, Dr Lipholo said he had received a high-profile invitation to Jerusalem from 5 to 11 October.
“As a serving Member of the National Assembly of Lesotho (the 11th Parliament) and leader of the BCM, I have active legislative and public responsibilities.
“I received a formal, high-profile invitation to attend and participate as a VIP Guest Speaker at the International Ambassadors Summit in Jerusalem, Israel, running from 5 to 11 of October 2026,” he said.
Dr Lipholo said Adv Matsoso had refused his request.
Mr Maroibaki, however, claimed that Dr Lipholo had shown Adv Matsoso his invitation and requested permission to travel, which he said had been granted.
Background
Dr Lipholo, the BCM’s only Member of Parliament elected through a Proportional Representation (PR) seat, was arrested on 4 July 2025 at his Qoaling home by heavily armed soldiers and members of the police Special Operations Unit (SOU).
He is known for his controversial campaign to “reclaim” territory he argues belonged to Basutoland before independence in 1966, including parts of the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
He was initially charged with sedition, human trafficking and insulting the Royal Family.
On 11 August 2025, he was slapped with an additional treason charge after the Crown accused him of conspiring with others to overthrow the government of King Letsie III.
The Crown alleges that he recruited young men for military training on farms in South Africa, claims South African intelligence structures and police have reportedly said they found no evidence to support.
The Crown further alleges that he sought foreign backing for what it calls a planned uprising against the state.
High Court Judge Fumane Khabo denied him bail on 28 August 2025, citing him as a flight risk.
Dr Lipholo was eventually granted bail by another High Court Judge ’Maliepollo Makhetha on 8 December 2025. Bail was set at M10 000, with a surety of M100 000, after the court took his deteriorating health into account.
His passports, diplomatic and ordinary, were surrendered to the police as part of the bail conditions.
His trial has repeatedly failed to start because the State has not furnished his lawyers with a complete docket.
Police raid
Mr Maroibaki said police raided Dr Lipholo’s homestead in Qoatsaneng on Tuesday looking for him.
“The question is why the police would go and search Dr Lipholo’s home when he wrote a letter to the Commissioner of Police informing him that he was going to travel to Israel for a certain occasion.”
Mr Maroibaki claimed Dr Lipholo had reported to police by telephone after arriving in Israel.
“How did he violate the bail conditions when he reported about his trip?” he said.
Summit and sponsors
Mr Maroibaki said the organisers had not provided the BCM with clear details about why Dr Lipholo had been invited.
“He has been invited to a summit of heads of state as well as a global prayer conference, where he is going to be an important guest and make a speech.
“Dr Lipholo is a leader who is known internationally, so we can’t be surprised when he is invited, because he once went to the United Nations headquarters to petition the UN to reclaim the Basotho captured territory,” he said.
Dr Lipholo reportedly travelled to the UN headquarters last year to petition the world body to help Basotho reclaim the Free State and parts of KwaZulu-Natal, including Durban and Newcastle, which he claims were conquered from Lesotho.
Mr Maroibaki said Dr Lipholo had told his followers that he had chosen the United States and Israel to assist him in his campaign to reclaim the territory.
“Yesterday, we received information that he was going to meet with the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“Since he is not part of government, but the opposition, Israel covered all the costs in collaboration with America, since the summit is held by both countries. That means he did not pay for his flight ticket, as it was purchased on his behalf. They have taken responsibility for everything, even his life is under the protection of that government,” he said.
Police version
LMPS spokesperson, Superintendent Thabo Mohai, gave a different account, saying Dr Lipholo was given his passport on the understanding that he was going to see a doctor in South Africa and would return it after two days.
“As police, we did not know that he went to Israel. Dr Lipholo was granted bail because of his said deteriorating health.
“The court put conditions on his bail, including that he must first go to the police and request the passport, and when he returns from the hospital in South Africa, he must surrender the passport to the police again,” he said.
Supt Mohai said police became concerned after Dr Lipholo failed to return the passport.
“There is something surprising because he would take the passport for two days and return it, but this time around he has gone beyond a week without returning it.
“The court did not order that he be given the passport in any other circumstances other than going to the hospital,” he said.
Supt Mohai confirmed that police went to Dr Lipholo’s homestead on Tuesday to establish his whereabouts.
“Yes, the police went to his home. The reason is that the police were following up on the passport issue, because he took the passport on the pretext that he was going to the hospital, but he did not return it.
“That passport is in our custody through the court’s order, and we had to understand what was really happening. The police went there and received a report that he had not returned from the hospital,” he said.
Source claims
A source close to the matter alleged that Dr Lipholo’s attempts to obtain his passport to attend the Jerusalem summit were not genuine.
The source said that after Adv Matsoso refused to release the passport for the trip, Dr Lipholo approached the High Court seeking to have the decision reviewed.
“After he made a request for his passport to be released because he had been invited on his status as a Member of Parliament, it was evaluated and they realised that there is nothing like that.
“He had only found something on the internet and lied, because even Parliament was surprised, as there is no such nomination and nowhere has Dr Lipholo been invited to such a summit on his status as a legislator,” the source said.
The source alleged that while his application to go to Israel was pending, Dr Lipholo subsequently requested the passport on the basis that he was going to the hospital.
“That application was opposed. And when it was opposed, he left it midway and fled. He went to the police and said he was sick and was going to see a doctor, knowing that when the subject of sickness is raised, he would be given a passport.
“He was given the passport on the understanding that he was going to see the doctor and would return it after he returned from the hospital. It was a surprise when the authorities learnt that he is in Israel,” the source said.
The source added that the prosecution was expected to approach the court for a warrant of arrest against Dr Lipholo.
