History of Lesotho demonstration outside the royal palace in early August 1998 and in an unprecedented level of violence, looting, casualties, and destruction of property. In early September, junior members of the armed services mutinied. The Government of Lesotho requested that a SADC task force intervene to prevent a military coup and restore stability to the country. To this end, Operation Boleas, consisting of South African and (later) Botswana troops, entered Lesotho on September 22, 1998 to put down the mutiny and restore the democratically elected government. The army mutineers were brought before a court-martial. After stability returned to Lesotho, the SADC task
Languages of Lesotho Languages of Lesotho Lesotho, a country in Southern Africa, is home to several languages, including Phuthi, Sesotho, Xhosa, Zulu and English, — all, except for English, belong to the Niger–Congo language family. Sesotho (or Southern Sesotho), a Southern Bantu language, is the national language of Lesotho, and is spoken by most Basotho. It was recognized as the national language by the National and Official Languages Bill, ratified by the National Assembly of Lesotho on 12 September 1966, which also established Sesotho and English as the country's two official languages. The country's language policy promotes bilingualism, and Chapter 1 of the