Hon. Justice Nthomeng Majara (Lesotho)

Hon. Justice Nthomeng Majara

(Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho 

| Minister of Justice, Law & Parliamentary Affairs

Lesotho)

Hon. Justice Nthomeng 'Matoka Justina Majara is a jurist and stateswoman whose career has been defined by firsts. Born in 1963 in Maseru, with her family home in Maqhaka in the district of Berea, she rose through every rank of Lesotho's legal system: magistrate, law lecturer at the National University of Lesotho — where her courses included Law and Environment — women's rights researcher with the Women and Law in Southern Africa Research and Educational Trust, and judge of the superior courts. In 2014, she became the first woman ever appointed Chief Justice of the Kingdom of Lesotho. In 2022, she made history again as the country's first female Deputy Prime Minister — a role she holds today alongside the portfolios of Minister of Justice, Law and Parliamentary Affairs and Leader of the House in the National Assembly.

Her connection to environment and water runs through her education and her politics alike. She holds a Master of Laws in Environmental Law from King's College London (1997), alongside her Bachelor of Laws from the National University of Lesotho — legal training she has carried into national leadership. According to "100 African Women Leading Africa's Water & Sanitation Future" (AfWASA & RWSN, 2026), her conviction that environmental dignity is a fundamental human right inspired the "Hloekisa Lesotho" (Clean Lesotho) campaign, mobilizing thousands of citizens in community cleaning and waste management initiatives, and as Chairperson of the National SDG Oversight Committee she has worked to ensure that SDG 6 — Clean Water and Sanitation — remains a prioritized national budget item, protecting the highland water sources that make Lesotho Southern Africa's "water tower."

That water tower is no metaphor: Lesotho's highlands supply water to millions across the region through the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, making the Mountain Kingdom's stewardship a matter of continental significance. As Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Majara champions the leadership, accountability, and service delivery systems through which such stewardship endures — most recently presenting the outcomes of Lesotho's first National Leadership Forum in June 2026, where government committed to stronger accountability and citizen-centred service delivery, with a Delivery Unit established in the Office of the Prime Minister to track implementation.

In February 2026, she represented Lesotho at the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly in Addis Ababa — the historic summit at which African Heads of State adopted the Africa Water Vision 2063 and Policy, the continental framework that inscribes gender equality as a prerequisite for water security and anchors this year's Africa's Women's Day Awareness theme.

From the bench to the cabinet room to the community clean-up, Justice Majara's journey is proof that African women can lead from every seat of power — and that securing Africa's water future requires legal rigor, political will, and grassroots engagement in equal measure.

Sources: National Assembly of Lesotho; Government of Lesotho (gov.ls, June 2026); Lesotho News Agency; Fana Media Corporation (February 2026); 100 African Women Leading Africa's Water & Sanitation Future (AfWASA & RWSN, 2026)