Moroke Sekoboto
THE United African Transformation (UAT) leader, Dr Mahali Phamotse, has petitioned her South African counterpart, Dr Lehlohonolo Mahlatsi, calling for sweeping reforms to the immigration framework governing the movement of Basotho into South Africa.
Her appeal comes amid growing anti-migrant sentiment and intensified law enforcement operations targeting Basotho nationals in South African towns such as Newcastle and Germiston.
In a letter dispatched to South African UAT leader, Dr Mahlatsi, this week, Dr Phamotse framed her appeal as a defence of thousands of Basotho affected by changing South African immigration policies. She urged the South African opposition leader to use his position in Parliament to champion legislative reforms that would improve the treatment of Basotho living, working and studying in South Africa.
UAT South Africa and the Lesotho UAT are sister parties.
While acknowledging that opposition parties cannot negotiate treaties or determine executive policy, Dr Phamotse said lawmakers had the authority to shape immigration legislation, labour protections and the rights of foreign nationals.
“We must forge synergies that accelerate the African Union Agenda 2063 — a vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful continent driven by its own citizens. We must strive for an Africa where colonial borders no longer divide brothers, where a common currency facilitates seamless trade, and where ID-based movement renders the concept of a foreigner obsolete,” Dr Phamotse said.
She invited Dr Mahlatsi and fellow opposition Members of Parliament to engage in discussions on strengthening bilateral relations between Lesotho and South Africa.
“As opposition members, I am acutely aware that we cannot unilaterally enact treaties or executive policy. However, we must leverage the legislative power vested in our parliaments as the architects of domestic law. It is within our institutions that immigration frameworks are drafted, labour protections codified and the rights of foreign nationals defined,” she said.
Dr Phamotse said opposition legislators had a unique opportunity to shape public discourse through parliamentary debate and urged Dr Mahlatsi to rally colleagues behind a shared legislative agenda.
“It is time to move beyond bureaucratic box-ticking and enter into genuine dialogue that recognises the exceptional nature of the Lesotho-South Africa relationship — a dialogue that translates our shared history into enforceable legal protections and tangible, life-changing outcomes for our people,” she said.
She argued that the relationship between the two countries was rooted in shared sacrifice, recalling that many South African liberation fighters found refuge in Lesotho during apartheid.
Dr Phamotse also referenced the 1982 Maseru massacre, in which South African forces attacked homes sheltering anti-apartheid activists.
“We recall the horrific 1982 Maseru massacre, where Basotho paid the ultimate price for sheltering their oppressed brothers and sisters. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently acknowledged this debt, stating that they mourn the many Basotho who lost their lives alongside their South African sisters and brothers. This historical solidarity is not a debt to be forgotten but a foundational principle upon which our modern relationship must be built,” she said.
She questioned the treatment of Basotho workers in South Africa amid reports of workplace raids and door-to-door searches.
“Yet today, as Basotho workers are hounded out of factories in Newcastle and searched door-to-door in Germiston, we must ask: where is the reciprocity for the high price Lesotho paid? South Africa’s freedom was watered by the hospitality of Basotho. We plead for that same spirit of Ubuntu to guide your current immigration reforms,” she said.
Dr Phamotse said Lesotho’s status as a country entirely surrounded by South Africa required a different approach to immigration policy.
“The current movement of Basotho between our two countries is not an act of immigration in the traditional sense, but a natural economic flow between a mountain kingdom and its immediate neighbour,” she said.
She argued that the call for a special dispensation for Basotho was supported by existing bilateral and regional agreements.
“Through the 2001 Joint Bilateral Commission of Cooperation (JBCC), our nations explicitly agreed to ease the movement of people, goods and services — a promise we must finally deliver on. This aligns with the SADC Protocol, which commits both countries to breaking down travel and residency barriers across the region. It makes little sense that SACU rules allow goods to cross borders freely while the people who make those goods face constant hurdles,” she said.
She added that Basotho had contributed significantly to South Africa’s economy for more than a century through labour migration and deserved humane and dignified treatment.
Dr Phamotse urged South Africa to move beyond diplomatic rhetoric and adopt concrete measures to address the structural challenges facing Basotho.
“Our bilateral engagement must now transition from diplomatic rhetoric to concrete actions that resolve the structural inequities facing Basotho in South Africa. Our unique geographical reality, the currency peg and the principles of the SADC Protocol demand a tailored approach.
“Consequently, I urge you to present a proposal to your Parliament for a Special Movement Dispensation for Basotho, built upon the following pillars: operationalise recent Bi-National Commission deliberations to allow Basotho with valid national identity documents free movement for trade and family reunification.
“Amend South African legislation to exempt Basotho from the standard foreign national framework, allowing them to live and work without restrictive work permits, treat Basotho students as domestic scholars by removing the requirement for international study permits, and establish a fair transition to permanent residency for holders of the Lesotho Special Permit, ending the anxiety caused by repeated temporary extensions.
“Jointly advocate for legislative protections that shield Basotho from rising xenophobic populism and hostile political rhetoric, and form a bilateral legislative team to oversee these movement dispensations, ensure compliance with JBCC commitments and monitor the humane treatment of Basotho at borders and within communities,” Dr Phamotse said.
