Lesotho’s parliament is expected on Wednesday to discuss a motion to reclaim some parts of South Africa.
An opposition MP wants legislators to “declare the whole of the Free State, parts of the Northern Cape, parts of the Eastern Cape, parts of Mpumalanga and parts of KwaZulu-Natal as part of Lesotho’s territory”, according to parliament’s order paper.
It says the reclamation will be pursued under the United Nations Resolution 1817 (XVII) that was passed by the General Assembly in December 1962.
In 1871, Lesotho – then Basutoland – was part of the Cape Province – but, in 1884, it was declared a distinct crown colony.
Historically, Lesotho people were found in parts of South Africa’s Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
But many were forced to move to present-day Lesotho because of conflict.
Lesotho is a country which – seen on the map – is very unusual.
It is surrounded like an island on all sides by South Africa – meaning if it imports goods by road they have to be brought in via its bigger neighbour.
But Lesotho’s parliament is to debate whether the country should demand land back from South Africa.
The motion was brought by the small Lesotho Covenant Movement party – which says it has approached the United Nations and that this is a historical matter that should have been attended to decades ago.