CIV/APN/156/83

IN THE
HIGH COURT OF LESOTHO

In the
Application of .

MIKHANE
MAQETOANE Applicant

v

1.
MINISTER OF INTERIOR )

2. CHIEF
DAVID GABASHANE MASUPHA)

3. CHIEF
MOJEA MASUPHA ) RESPONDENT

4. CHIEF
MATHEALIRA MASUPHA )

JUDGMENT

Delivered
by the Hon. Chief Justice, Mr. Justice T.S. Cotran on the 3rd day of
February 1984

In this
application Mikhane Maqetoane seeks an order

from this
Court to declare him to be the official headman of Maqetoane in the
district of Berea.

It is
common cause that the applicant was gazetted as headman of the area
in question by High Commissioner's Notice No. 170 of 1950.

It is
also common cause that Government Notice No.25 in Gazette
Extraordinary No. 3413 of the 11th February 1964 omitted the
applicant's
name and area. Whether this was deliberate or through a
mistake no one knows for certain, but the applicant now seems to have
the
support of the Principal Chief and every intermediate chief that
he should be gazetted for the area in question. He himself has
been
trying, since 1964, to remedy the situation by resort to the
administration but he did not succeed. He now applies to this
Court.

Mr.
Tsotsi submits that the Court is empowered to grant such an order or
make such a declaration. He relies on two cases before
Benson J :
Lerotholi v College of Chiefs and Griffith v College of Chiefs (Civil

2

Reviews
Nos. 7 and 8 of 1964 dated 12th October 1964 -unreported) In which
the learned Judge did make orders

in favour
of the applicants therein but it is clear that the Judge was seised
of the applications under s.79 (1) of the Basutoland
(Constitution)
Order in Council 1959. This piece of legislation was superseded by
the Basutoland Order 1965 and then by the Lesotho
Independence Order
1966 (the Independence Constitution) and then by the Chieftainship
Act 1968 and the Lesotho Order 1970.

The
matter of gazettment and recognition of chiefs has engaged the
attention of the High Court on numerous occasions since 1964.

I refer
in particular to Molapo v Teketsi (1971-1973 LLR 235), Jonathan v
Mathealira (CIV/T/20/77 dated 22.9.77 -unreported), Lebona
v Minister
of Interior & an (CIV/APN/371/77 dated 3.4.78 - unreported) and
Molapo v Minister of Interior (CIV/APN/44/78 dated
30.6.78
-unreported).

It is
clear from all these cases that the Court's power to intervene in
matters relating to the chieftainship are limited and do
not include
a declaration of the type that the applicant seeks.

The
application must therefore be dismissed with costs but I must add
that the advice tendered by a certain L.P. Lebona on behalf
of the
Permanent Secretary of the Interior to the applicant, that the High
Court is empowered to gazette him, is not sound.

CHIEF
JUSTICE

3rd
February 1984

For
Applicant : Mr. Tsotsi

For
Respondents : Mrs. Ntsonyana