Lesotho

"Main articles: '"

• Countries of the world
• Africa

Geography

The Kingdom of Lesotho is located in South Africa and is surrounded on all sides by the territory of the Republic of South Africa, therefore it is an enclave. The entire territory of Lesotho is located at an altitude of 1400 m above sea level and more, which makes it unique in this indicator.

Population

Main article: Population of Africa

Migration

2021: Net outflow over 4 years

Overweight

Economy

GDP $1,466 per person

R&D

2020: R&D expenses - $1 million

Lesotho IT Market

2022: More than 1 start-up

Agriculture

2019: Low use of pesticides in agriculture

Consumption

Meat

2023: Pork is the most consumed type of meat

Cereals

2019: Low rice consumption: 6.4 kg per person per year

Vegetables

2018: Vegetable consumption - 27 kg per capita

Power

Electrification

Energy carriers

2020: Energy consumption per capita

and

Foreign trade

2022: US is the biggest export destination

Automobile traffic

Lesotho is a left-hand country.

Education

2019: Percentage of people who can read

Health care

Maternity leave

in

2020

Duration of guaranteed paid sick leave from 1 to 2.9 months

Part of the population defecates on the street

Crime

Prisons

2022: The minimum age for children to be jailed is 10 years

2018: Number of prisoners per 100 thousand citizens

Sport

2022: The most popular sport is football

in

History

2020: The head of government and his wife are suspected of killing another politician's wife

In January 2020, the Lesotho police are investigating the circumstances of the mysterious death of the wife of 80-year-old Prime Minister Thomas Thabane. First lady Lipolelo Thabane, 58, was shot dead on June 14, 2017, by unknown assailants just two days before her husband took office as prime minister.

Despite the fact that Tabane himself called this murder "senseless," many considered the tragedy the logical ending of the divorce proceedings that had been going on since 2012. The fact is that even then the head of government had serious relations with another wife, Mesaya, but in 2015 the court rejected her request to approve her as first lady (with all the privileges due to her). Polygamy is polygamy, but the first lady can only be one.

So the murder was very useful to the couple, and it is not surprising that already at the inauguration the politician appeared with Mesaya, and two weeks later he was officially married with her at a public ceremony in the capital Maseru. In 2019, the prime minister's daughter Mabatsoeneng Hlaele directly accused Mesaya of killing her mother.

Mesaya, 42, having become the most powerful person in the country and earned the dubious nickname "Grace Mugabe Lesotho," personally handled all party and government appointments and brought the situation to an acute crisis.

Suspicions reached a new level after excerpts from the investigation materials became public. It turned out that at the fateful hour, a call was made to Thabane's phone number directly from the crime scene, and on December 23, 2019, Police Commissioner Olomo Molibeli addressed a letter with uncomfortable questions to the veteran of forestry politics himself. Thabane did not respond, and later even tried to remove Molibeli from office for 60 days "for violating the protocol," but this did not save his new wife Mesaya from being summoned for interrogation. After her failure to appear, the police put the first lady on the wanted list and threatened to turn to Interpol for help in investigating the high-profile and scandalous murder. In turn, the High Court threatened Thabane with consequences for the prosecution of Commissioner Molibeli and reinstated him.

The scandalous case finally turned both the ruling party and the opposition against Thabane, who unanimously demanded the resignation of the prime minister. In addition, members of his own party - the Congress of All Basothos - are seeking his removal from the leadership of the organization. True, Thabane suspended parliament indefinitely in advance to prevent impeachment, but is not able to stop the collapse of the government.

Local experts consider the deep cause of the crisis in Lesotho to be the peculiar position of an isolated mountain kingdom completely surrounded by South Africa. Due to stagnant and unprofitable agriculture, zero industry and acute job shortages, politics has become not only the main entertainment, but also the main enrichment channel for ambitious subjects. So in a small country there are as many as 30 parties, over 40% of the budget is spent on the salaries of bitterly gnawing civil servants with each other, while half of the two million population, according to local authorities, live below the poverty line.

1987: Moshweshwe II flees the country due to conflict with the military. His 14-year-old son, Letsie III, becomes king

Moshweshwe II's son, Letsieh III, born in 1963, became king in 1987 after his father was forced to flee Lesotho as a result of a conflict with the country's army. A few years later, Moshveshwe II was able to return from exile as an ordinary citizen, and Letsiye III tried to convince the country's government that it was Moshveshwe II who should be the head of Lesotho.

In 1994, King Letsiye III, with the support of the military, carried out a coup in the state and removed the government of the FAR (Basoto Congress Party), which had been operating until that time in Lesotho. As a result of this coup, King Moshveshwe II was able to return to the throne in 1995. However, in 1996, the king-father died in a car accident and the throne again passed to Letsie III.

1966: Independence and renaming to Lesotho with King Moshweshwe II

In 1965, Basutoland received autonomy within the protectorate. Finally, in October 1966, the independence of the state was proclaimed, which now became known as the Kingdom of Lesotho. Moshveshwe II became king - the leader of Basutoland since 1960. Before the military coup in 1986, his power was ceremonial, not real.

1868: The weakening of the country in the fight against the Boers and the restoration of the protectorate of Britain

The British protectorate was restored in 1868, when the fight against the Boers significantly weakened Basutoland. And after the death of the supreme Basotho leader, the lands of present-day Lesotho were annexed without approval to the Cape Colony, which became one of the reasons for the uprising that followed in 1880-1881.

In 1881, Britain was forced to announce the secession of Basutoland and the restoration of it as a separate colonial possession.

1852: Expulsion of the British and annulment of the protectorate agreement

In 1852, the protectorate agreement with the British was annulled after the army of Moshveshwe I expelled the British military posts.

1848: Creation of the British Protectorate of Basutoland

When clashes with Boer settlers began in the late 1830s, Chief Moshveshwe I decided to seek help from the British, and in October 1843 an agreement was signed recognizing the leader as a "friend and ally" of Britain. And in 1848, a British protectorate was officially created, called Basutoland.

1828: Formation of the state under Chief Moshweshwe I

Until the 19th century, on the lands of modern Lesotho, there was no single state, and different tribes lived separately. But in 1820-1830. the power of the leader Moshveshwe I strengthened here, and Suto (soto), the indigenous ethnic group of Lesotho, flocked under his protectorate.

1914

Calendar

July 17 - King's Day

In Lesotho, King's Day is celebrated annually on July 17 - a public holiday in honor of the birthday of King Letsiye III.