Nthomeng Justina Majara (born 8 June 1963) is a Mosotho jurist and politician serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Lesotho since 2022. A member of
Revolution for Prosperity, she previously served as
Chief Justice of
Lesotho
Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...
from 2014 to 2018, being the first woman to be appointed to either office.
Early life
Nthomeng Justina Majara was born on 8 June 1963 at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Lesotho, and her mother tongue is
Sesotho
Sotho (), also known as ''Sesotho'' (), Southern Sotho, or ''Sesotho sa Borwa'' is a Southern Bantu languages, Southern Bantu language spoken in Lesotho as its national language and South Africa where it is an official language.
Like all Ba ...
.
She earned a bachelor's degree in law from the
National University of Lesotho
The National University of Lesotho, the main and oldest university in Lesotho, is located in Roma, Lesotho, Roma, southeast of Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. The Roma valley is broad and is surrounded by a barrier of rugged mountains which pro ...
, graduating in 1992, and a master's degree in law from
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
, graduating in 1997.
Career
Majara was appointed as the chief justice of Lesotho in September 2014, when she took over from Justice
Tšeliso Monaphathi, who has been the acting chief justice since April 2013.
When the High Court and Court of Appeal Registrar,
Lesitsi Mokeke, was asked for more details, he replied, "This is news to me because I have just come out of a meeting with Justice Monaphathi ... I think he is also not aware of this development."
In 2017, Majara was one of 12 nominees for an election of six judges to the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
to represent the African States regional group.
Personal life
In October 2017, Majara was living in a "lavish
Maseru
Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. T ...
mansion" sub-let from High Court judge
Teboho Moiloa, despite government internal auditors having condemned the arrangement six months earlier.
See also
*
First women lawyers around the world
This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in each country. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are the first women in their country to achieve a certain distinction su ...
References
5.
1963 births
Living people
National University of Lesotho alumni
Alumni of King's College London
Lesotho women in politics
Lesotho women lawyers
Women chief justices
People from Maseru
Lesotho judges
First women chief justices
https://www.thepost.co.ls/comment/insight-pst/big-steps-for-women/
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