Lesotho is a landlocked country in Africa, located inside South Africa. Lesotho is completely surrounded from all sides by South Africa. Lesotho is one of only three countries in the world to be completely surrounded by a different country. The other two are: San Marino and Vatican City. The population of this country is approx 22,10,000 with 30,355 square kilometers area. Official languages are Sesotho and English. Ethnically over 99% are Basotho. In terms of religion, 92% are Christians and 6% follow traditional religions. Some of Lesotho's politicians are interested in abolishing the state of Lesotho and merging with South Africa.
Article 4 of Lesotho's constitution lists 16 rights together - which is strange. Each right should be mentioned separately in at least one paragraph, along with the terms and conditions. The interesting thing is that the rights referred to in Article 4 are again mentioned in different Articles, and that too in a much longer form. Lesotho's constitution is not suitable to read. The worst part is, many of the rights mentioned are limited by "defence, public safety, public order, public morality" etc. That means, the government is able to restrict civil rights whenever it wants, in any way it wants.
Admirable Articles of Lesotho's Constitution
4. Fundamental human rights and freedoms (Part of it)
Whereas every person in Lesotho is entitled, whatever his race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status to fundamental human rights and freedoms, that is to say, to each and all of the following--
- the right to life;
- the right to personal liberty;
- freedom of movement and residence;
- freedom from inhuman treatment;
- freedom from slavery and forced labour;
- freedom from arbitrary search or entry;
- the right to respect for private and family life;
- the right to a fair trial of criminal charges against him and to a fair determination of his civil rights and obligations;
- freedom of conscience;
- freedom of expression;
- freedom of peaceful assembly;
- freedom of association;
- freedom from arbitrary seizure of property;
- freedom from discrimination;
- the right to equality before the law and the equal protection of the law; and
- the right to participate in government,
6. Right to personal liberty (Part of it)
● Every person shall be entitled to personal liberty, that is to say, he shall not be arrested or detained save as may be authorised by law in any of the following cases, that is to say--
- in execution of the sentence or order of a court, whether established for Lesotho or for some other country, in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been convicted;
- in execution of the order of the court punishing him for contempt of that court or of a tribunal;
- in execution of the order of a court made to secure the fulfilment of any obligation imposed on him by law;
- for the purpose of bringing him before a court in execution of the order of a court;
- upon reasonable suspicion of his having committed, or being about to commit, a criminal offence under the law of Lesotho;
- in the case of a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years, for the purpose of his education or welfare;
- for the purpose of preventing the spread of an infectious or contagious disease;
- in the case of a person who is, or is reasonably suspected to be, of unsound mind, addicted to drugs or alcohol, or a vagrant, for the purpose of his care and treatment or the protection of the community;
9. Freedom from slavery and forced labour
● No person shall be held in slavery or servitude.
● No person shall be required to perform forced labour.
● For the purposes of this section, the expression "forced labour" does not include--
- any labour required in consequence of the sentence or order of a court;
- any labour required of any person while he is lawfully detained that, though not required in consequence of the sentence or order of a court, is reasonably required in the interests of hygiene or for the maintenance of the place at which he is detained;
- any labour required of a member of a disciplined force in pursuance of his duties as such or, in the case of a person who has conscientious objections to service as a member of a military or air force, any labour that that person is required by law to perform in place of such service;
- any labour required during any period when Lesotho is at war or a declaration of emergency under section 23 of this Constitution is in force or in the event of any other emergency or calamity that threatens the life or well-being of the community, to the extent that the requiring of such labour is reasonably justifiable, in the circumstances of any situation arising or existing during that period or as a result of that other emergency or calamity, for the purpose of dealing with that situation; or
- any labour reasonably required by law as part of reasonable and normal community or other civic obligations.
12. Right to fair trial, etc (Part of it)
● If any person is charged with a criminal offence, then, unless the charge is withdrawn, the case shall be afforded a fair hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial court established by law.
● Every person who is charged with a criminal offence--
- shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved or has pleaded guilty;
- shall be informed as soon as reasonably practicable, in a language that he understands and in adequate detail, of the nature of the offence charged;
- shall be given adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence;
- shall be permitted to defend himself before the court in person or by a legal representative of his own choice;
- shall be afforded facilities to examine in person or by his legal representative the witnesses called by the prosecution before the court and to obtain the attendance and carry out the examination of witnesses to testify on his behalf before the court on the same conditions as those applying to witnesses called by the prosecution; and
- shall be permitted to have without payment the assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand the language used at the trial of the charge,
and except with his own consent the trial shall not take place in his absence unless he so conducts himself as to render the continuance of the proceedings in his presence impracticable and the court has ordered him to be removed and the trial to proceed in his absence.
● When a person is tried for any criminal offence, the accused person or any person authorised by him in that behalf shall, if he so requires and subject to payment of such reasonable fee as may be prescribed by law, be given within a reasonable time after judgement a copy for the use of the accused person of any record of the proceedings made by or on behalf of the court.
● No person shall be held to be guilty of a criminal offence on account of any act or omission that did not, at the time it took place, constitute such an offence, and no penalty shall be imposed for a criminal offence that is severer in degree or description than the maximum penalty that might have been imposed for that offence at the time when it was committed.
● No person who shows that he has been tried by a competent court for a criminal offence and either convicted or acquitted shall be tried again for that offence or for any other criminal offence of which he could have been convicted at the trial for that offence, save upon the order of a superior court in the course of appeal or review proceedings relating to the conviction or acquittal.
● No person shall be tried for a criminal offence if he shows that he has been pardoned for that offence.
● No person who is tried for a criminal offence shall be compelled to give evidence at the trial.
27. Protection of health
● Lesotho shall adopt policies aimed at ensuring the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health for its citizens, including policies designed to--
- provide for the reduction of stillbirth rate and of infant mortality and for the healthy development of the child;
- improve environmental and industrial hygiene;
- provide for the prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases;
- create conditions which would assure to all, medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness; and
- improve public health.
29. Opportunity to work
● Lesotho shall endeavour to ensure that every person has the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts.
● Lesotho shall adopt policies aimed at--
- achieving and maintaining as high and stable a level of employment as possible;
- providing technical and vocational guidance and training programmes; and
- achieving steady economic, social and cultural development and full and productive employment under conditions safeguarding fundamental political and economic freedoms to the individual.
59. Disqualifications for membership of Parliament (Part of it)
● Parliament may provide that, subject to such exceptions and limitations as may be prescribed by Parliament, a person shall not be qualified to be nominated as a Senator or elected as a member of the National Assembly if--
- he holds or acts in any office or appointment that is so prescribed; or
- he is a member of the Defence Force; or
- he is a member of the Police Force; or
- he is a member of the National Security Service: or
- he is a member of the Prison Service.
Facts of Lesotho's Constitution
13. Freedom of conscience (Part of it)
● Every religious community shall be entitled, at its own expense, to establish and maintain places of education and to manage any place of education which it wholly maintains; and no such community shall be prevented from providing religious instruction for persons of that community in the course of any education provided at any places of education which it wholly maintains or in the course of any education which it otherwise provides.
16. Freedom of association
● Every person shall be entitled to, and (except with his own consent) shall not be hindered in his enjoyment of freedom to associate freely with other persons for ideological, religious, political, economic, labour, social, cultural, recreational and similar purposes.
● Nothing contained in or done under the authority of any law shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of any law to the extent that the law in question makes provision--
- in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health;
- for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedoms of other persons; or
- for the purpose of imposing restrictions upon public officers.
17. Freedom from arbitrary seizure of property (Part of it)
No property, movable or immovable, shall be taken possession of compulsorily, and no interest in or right over any such property shall be compulsorily acquired, except where the following conditions are satisfied, that is to say--
● the taking of possession or acquisition is necessary in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality, public health, town and country planning or the development or utilisation of any property in such manner as to promote the public benefit; and
21. Derogation from fundamental human rights and freedoms
● Nothing contained in or done under the authority of an Act of Parliament shall be held to be inconsistent with or in contravention of section 6, section 18 or section 19 of this Constitution to the extent that the Act authorises the taking during any period when Lesotho is at war or when a declaration of emergency under section 23 of this Constitution is in force of measures that are necessary in a practical sense in a democratic society for dealing with the situation that exists in Lesotho during that period.
● When a person is detained by virtue of any such law as is referred to in subsection (1) the following provisions shall apply, that is to say--
- he shall, as soon as reasonably practicable after the commencement of his detention, be furnished with a statement in writing in a language that he understands specifying in detail the grounds upon which he is detained;
- not more than fourteen days after the commencement of his detention, a notification shall be published in the Gazette stating that he has been detained and giving particulars of the provision of law under which his detention is authorised;
- not more than one month after the commencement of his detention and thereafter during his detention at intervals of not more than six months, his case shall be investigated by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law and presided over by a person appointed by the Chief Justice;
- he shall be afforded reasonable facilities to consult a legal representative of his own choice who shall be permitted to make representations to the tribunal appointed for the investigation of the case of the detained person; and
- at the hearing of his case by the tribunal appointed for the investigation of his case he shall be permitted to appear in person or by a legal representative of his own choice.
- On any investigation by a tribunal in pursuance of this section of the case of a detained person, the tribunal may make recommendations concerning the necessity or expediency of continuing his detention to the authority by which it was ordered but, unless it is otherwise provided by law, that authority shall not be obliged to act in accordance with any such recommendations.
● Nothing contained in subsection (2)(d) or (e) shall be construed as entitling a person to legal representation at public expense.
