The Constitution of Lesotho, Tusha Kanti Saha : book review

• Author: Hoolo 'Nyane
• DOI: 10.10520/EJC177229
• Published date: 01 January 2013
• Date: 01 January 2013
• Pages: 195-199
• publishedBy: National University of Lesotho

BOOK REVIEW

Saha, Tusha Kanti: The Constitution ofLesothoKolkata, R.

Combray & Co., 2010. pp1-325.

Price: M250 (Paperback).

Reviewed By Hoolo ‘Nyane, LLB, LLM, LLD Cand (UNISA)

The Constitution of Lesotho constitutes a seminal contribution by a

scholar ‘of no mean stature like Professor Tusha Kanti Saha who

coincidentally, hails from one of the most progressive jurisdictions

and a mature democracy, republic of India’, to use the words of

Chief Justice Lehohla in his foreword to the work. This book is

incontrovertibly the only work on the Constitution of Lesotho that

covers the jurisprudential twists and turns of the constitutional law

of the Kingdom of Lesotho. It touches on all salient features of the

edifice such as the history of the Constitution of Lesotho, the

notions of liberal constitutionalism like the rule of law, the Bill of

Rights and all the key institutions of the design. This

comprehensive approach was last employed by Palmer and Poulter

in their classic work, The Legal System of Lesotho.

1

The later work by

Maqutu, Contemporary Constitutional History of Lesotho

2

is an historic-

narrative piece which, although it filled the void on the often

downplayed history of the constitution of Lesotho, is not

necessarily comparative or analytic on the contemporary trends in

constitutional discourse.

The Constitution of Lesotho remains hugely under studied even

though it presents one of the most interesting constitutional designs

in the world. Whilst there is no gain saying that the design is largely

cast on the Westminster mast, it has some nuances and subtleties of

the American mould. Its enshrinement of the Bill of Rights and its

1

Palmer, V.V and Poulter, S.M. The Legal System of Lesotho, The Michie

Company. Virginia. 1972.

2

Maqutu, W.C.M. Contemporary Constitutional History of Lesotho, Mazenod

Institute, Mazenod, 1990.