The Basotho Kingdom is set to discuss a motion in the new year to reclaim areas of land in South Africa.

According to a government notice on 12 December, the "reclamation of Lesotho territory will be pursued".

The notice presented by the government reads as follows:

"The Honourable House resolves, pursuant of Section 1(2) of the Constitution, to declare the whole of the Free State, parts of the Northern Cape, parts of the Eastern Cape, parts of Mpumalanga and parts of KwaZulu-Natal as comprising the territory of the Kingdom of Lesotho."

The leader of the Lesotho Covenant Movement in Parliament, Tsepo Lipholo, is pushing for the motion.

The matter is set to be heard after the Christmas break, a source within the Lesotho Parliament told News24.

Historically, the Basotho were found in the Orange Free State, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and parts of KwaZulu-Natal.

But due to the Mfencane and other Nguni wars, the Basotho people were forced to migrate and moved north to present-day Lesotho.

King Moshoeshoe 1, the father of the Basotho people, was responsible for bringing together his clan around 1822, after they had been driven apart by Zulu and Ndebele raids.

In 1871, Lesotho (then Basutoland) was part of the Cape Province - but, in 1884, it was declared a distinct crown colony.

Given the proximity of the two nations, some activists have called for annexation.