By: T’soloane Mohlomi
“Lebone la Tsosoloso” (renaissance torch) which was ignited by His Majesty King Letsie III a fortnight ago at a ceremony held at the Royal Palace in Maseru will officially go on a nationwide tour.
The nationwide tour is part of a campaign spearheaded by Project RE, which is a government initiative aimed at reviving the core values of the Basotho nation which seem to have been lost over the course of time.
The tour’s slogan is dubbed “Re qala mona mmoho re fetola Lesotho le Lecha”, which literally translates to “We start here, together pushing for change of a new Lesotho.”
With this occurrence also happening in the background of the Basotho nation’s commemoration of 200 years since Lesotho was formed by King Moshoeshoe I, the light is said to signify a new dawn for Basotho, where peace and humility prevail as the guiding principles in a country which has been recently marred with various acts of malice and terror, resulting with the country having one of the highest murder rates in the world.
Speaking at a media briefing held at the Manthabiseng Convention Centre in Maseru this week, Project RE manager Mr Solly Mofoka said Preparations were underway for His Majesty King Letsie III to hand over the light Project RE for commencement of circulation around the country.
He said the circulation would be headed by the different district leadership which would also include churches in all the ten districts of Lesotho. The light will begin its maiden tour in the district of Butha-Buthe starting from the end of January next year 2024, and conclude the tour in October.
As you all might be aware this past month His majesty King Letsie III ignited this renaissance torch, this was done so that Basotho can turn a new page and turn back to the ways of their heritage which symbolized and promoted peace and humility among all citizens.
This torch symbolises a time of great introspection as the nation seems to undoubtedly lost its way and needs guidance in terms of recovering from this dark period in our history as a nation, this also in the background of the 200 year anniversary of the Kingdom of Lesotho next year in 2024.
“The light will first tour the Butha-Buthe district, then move to the Mokhotlong district in the east of the country in February, Thaba-Tseka will follow in March before taking a further tour to the east in the district of Qacha’s nek in April, May will host the light in the Quthing district while Mafeteng will host the light in June, Berea in July, Leribe in August, Mohale’s Hoek in September and ending in October in Maseru.
The light will remain a maximum number of three days in each district before moving to the next.
“The nationwide tour will however be precede by a walk which will commence this month on the 16th of December in all the 10 districts of the country. The walk will be led by women and girl activists and will start at 6AM in the morning in each district.