Ntlhoi Motsamai
| Ntlhoi Motsamai | |
|---|---|
|
Speaker of the National Assembly of Lesotho |
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Assumed office 10 March 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Sephiri Motanyane |
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In office 1999–2012 |
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| Preceded by | John Teboho Kolane |
| Succeeded by | Sephiri Motanyane |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1963 (age 53–54) Mohale's Hoek District, Lesotho |
| Political party |
LCD (to 2012) Democratic Congress (from 2012) |
Ntlhoi Motsamai (born 1963) is a Lesotho politician who has been the Speaker of the National Assembly since March 2015. She previously held the position from 1999 to 2012. Motsamai worked as a teacher before entering politics.
Motsamai was born in the remote village of Ha Pafoli, in the Mohale's Hoek District. She attended Eagle's Peak High School and then went on to study at the National University of Lesotho, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Education (B.Sc.Ed.) degree and majoring in biology and chemistry. After her graduation, Motsamai began teaching at St. John's High School in Mafeteng. She later returned to the National University to complete a Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree, simultaneously working in the office of the dean.
Motsamai entered politics in 1996, when she was elected deputy speaker of the National Assembly. Lesotho's constitution does not restrict the speakership or the deputy speakership to members of parliament, only requiring that ministers cannot be elected to those positions. Motsamai succeeded to the speakership in 1999, following the death of John Teboho Kolane. She became Lesotho's first female speaker, and was also believed to be the youngest speaker in Africa. When she took office, the National Assembly had only three female MPs.
In 2005, Motsamai nominated Bereng Sekhonyana to represent Lesotho at a SADC parliamentary reform conference in Botswana. Justin Lekhanya (the leader of the Basotho National Party) objected to her decision, and subsequently organised a series of protests at the National Assembly buildings. The assembly's privileges committee subsequently found that Lekhanya and four other BNP members had threatened and intimidated Motsamai, and recommended that they be suspended from parliament without pay for up to five months. Sekhonyana was assassinated two days after that finding was handed down.
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