Lesotho fires back at Trump over ‘demeaning’ remarks

Lesotho has been thrown into the limelight after US President Donald Trump said it is a country “which nobody has ever heard”.

He mentioned the country, which is located in Southern Africa, while defending his sweeping cuts in aid.

While addressing Congress on Tuesday, Trump said, “Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of.”

This, despite drawing laughs from the Congress, has not elicited the same reaction from the citizens of Lesotho.

Speaking to AFP, the Lesotho government said it was “shocked and embarrassed” by the comments.

Foreign Minister Lejone Mpotjoane said they did not expect such remarks from a head of state.

“We are not taking this matter lightly,” Mpotjoane said, adding that they would send an official protest letter to Washington.

The US has an embassy in the capital Maseru, and American volunteers serve in the popular Peace Corps programme.

Citizens and other people across the world took to X, posting sites found in Lesotho as they taunted Trump.

“The Kingdom of Lesotho is, among many other things, the most important water tower in southern Africa. Germany is proud of its partnership & cooperation with Lesotho,” Germany Ambassador to SA, Lesotho Andreas Peschke said.

 “Hey Trump, ever heard of Kingdom in the Sky? Guess not; too busy golfing to notice. Lesotho is the only country in the world entirely above 1,000 meters elevation. We’re here, we’re proud, and we’re not your punchline,” an X user said.

“If Trump looks at the map to see that Lesotho is a country within South Africa, he'll be more angry,” another said.

The country, although poor, has some of the best scenic views. It has about 2.3 million people.

The mountainous nation, also known as Kingdom in the Sky, is encircled by South Africa.

It is mostly made up of highlands, where many villages can only be reached on horseback, by foot or by light aircraft.

Encyclopaedia Britannica says Lesotho is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000m (3,281ft) in elevation, with its lowest point at 1,400m.

It has the highest ski resort in sub-Saharan Africa.  The Afriski is situated 3,222m above sea level, high up in Lesotho's Maloti mountains and attracts visitors from Africa and beyond.

Its biggest resource is water - known locally as white gold - which is exported to South Africa. Diamonds are another major export.

People from Lesotho are referred to as Basotho. They are associated with their blankets and the Basotho traditional conical hats, known as the mokorotlo.

The hat is a national symbol and appears in the middle of the country's flag.

Some of the country’s cultural and language share similarities with South Africans. Their language, Sesotho, is also one of South Africa's 11 official languages.

But not everything is positive about the country. Resources are scarce in Lesotho - a consequence of the harsh environment of the highland plateau and limited agricultural space in the lowlands.

Lesotho has one of the highest rates of HIV prevalence in the world, with one in five adults living with HIV, and more infections per 100,000 people than most other countries, including neighbouring Namibia, Botswana and Eswatini.

According to the UN World Health Organisation, the country has the world's highest suicide rate, with 87.5 people per 100,000 of the population taking their own life every year.

This is nearly 10 times the global average of nine and more than double the country with the second highest rate, Guyana, which has about 40.