Where are the Basotho military-style camps in South Africa? SAPS has found no evidence

The South African Police Service (SAPS) said it has not found any military-style camps training Basotho within South Africa's borders, following assertions by authorities in Lesotho.

Last week, IOL reported that authorities in the Kingdom of Lesotho insist they have credible information about Basotho undergoing military-style training in certain farms within South Africa, as part of the growing campaign to fight for the contentious land in South Africa's provinces.

The claimed land includes parts of Free State, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.

On Sunday, the co-chairperson of the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJoints) in South Africa, Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili stated that investigations have been conducted in different parts of South Africa, but nothing has been found to back the Lesotho authorities' information.

"Yes, we did receive an alert following the revelations made by the police commissioner of Lesotho. We were alerted by the statement that was on his social media account and we did not rest from the time that we received such. We have deployed all our operatives on the ground to establish the facts, including our bilaterals that we are having, because we do have bilaterals with Lesotho," Mosikili spoke to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.

She said several engagements were also made within the SAPS, bringing in provincial and national sections of the law enforcement agency, without discounting the alarm raised by the Lesotho police.

"To date, I can confirm to South Africans as well as the national commissioner issued a statement (on Saturday) that with the reports that are at our disposal at this point, there is no such confirmation from the areas that we have deployed," said Mosikili.

"We have not established any such training, but we are continuing as the security of South Africa to engage, and secondly, to have our operatives on the ground, to check. The appeal that I want to make to South Africans this evening is that if there is such, that they can observe, they need to alert the authorities, and we will do the necessary investigation.

"To date, we have not established any training that is happening in South Africa that is of a military nature," she said.

IOL previously reported that earlier this month, a Lesotho member of parliament, Dr Tshepo Lipholo, leader of the Basotho Covenant Movement, a political party that has been leading the charge in demanding the return of Lesotho’s "stolen land" which is part of current-day South Africa, was arrested and charged in the mountain kingdom.

Lipholo faces serious charges, including sedition and incitement, and is also accused of violating the dignity and reputation of Lesotho's royal family by allegedly declaring himself the “paramount chief of Basotholand” and encouraging young Basotho to prepare for armed struggle. 

It is alleged that audio clips circulating on social media platforms prove these claims.

Lipholo has been leading the charge, calling for certain sections of South Africa to be declared Lesotho's territory. Limpholo wants the land to be returned to the governance of Lesotho.

Earlier this year, Lipholo travelled to the United Nations, where he submitted a claim that seeks to reclaim land lost during the colonial era.

However, Lesotho’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations distanced itself from Lipholo, stating he was acting on his own agenda, and the UN trip was not sanctioned by the Maseru government.

Last week, national commissioner of the Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS), advocate Borotho Matsoso, told Newzroom Afrika that the information regarding the military-style training of Basotho in South Africa is credible.

Matsoso said the militant group calls itself Malata Naha (land reclaimers) is active within the borders of South Africa and seems to be “ready to take over”.

“It is not necessarily young Basotho, but Basotho nationals of different ages, we have discovered that they have been recruited to join this military training in some of the farms in South Africa. This is what we have come across.

He added that the programme has the possibility of disrupting peace and security in the region.

Some South African citizens, according to Matsoso, have been sucked into the military-style training programme at unidentified farms.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

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