Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs
26 July 2001
Mr. Japhet Ndlovu, South Africa's High Commissioner to Lesotho from 1997 to 2000, will present his credentials to His Majesty King Letsie III as High Commissioner for a second term, on Thursday, July 26.
He returned to Pretoria in December last year at the end of his assignment to Lesotho, but he has been reappointed to Lesotho by President Thabo Mbeki.
Mr. Ndlovu first came to Lesotho in 1963 as a political refugee and he has a very close knowledge of Lesotho politics and this has made him knowledgeable in Lesotho affairs.
Mr. Ndlovu ended his assignment to Lesotho after a hectic term during which he watched developments in Lesotho during the political crisis in 1998 when he was directly involved in representing the South African government during the talks that led to the establishment of the Interim Political Authority (IPA).
Mr. Ndlovu also played a key role in liaising with Pretoria on the deployment of troops of the South African National Defence Force together with the Botswana Defence Force after Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili sought SADC military intervention to try and resolve the political crisis in September 1998.
One of the highlights of Mr. Ndlovu's term of office in Lesotho was his initiation of a unique cross-border diplomacy between Lesotho and the neighbouring provinces of Kwazulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Free State during which important talks were held between the leaders of these Provinces and representatives of the Government of Lesotho to deal with a series of matters of interest between Lesotho and these Provinces.
Mr Ndlovu was also involved in the visit by President Mbeki to Lesotho in April 2001, during which the RSA/Lesotho Joint Bilateral Commission for Cooperation Agreement was signed, together with an agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and an Extradition Treaty. On that occasion, President Mbeki also paid the King a "royal fine", consisting of one cow.
For more information contact Basetsana Thokoane
Cell no. 083 443 7740