Lesotho’s foreign ministry said it was unaware of the funds Trump mentioned. The ministry’s spokesperson Kutloano Pheko told the BBC that perhaps the money was channelled directly to organisations dealing with LGBTQI+ issues. However, People’s Matrix, the country’s leading LGBTQI+ rights organisation, denied receiving funds from Washington. Spokesperson Tampose Mothopeng said they have no idea where that money has been spent and who received it.
The US foreign assistance website indicates about $120 million spent on health and population programmes in Lesotho in 2024, with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) managing $44.23 million of the fund and the Millennium Challenge Corporation handling $74.92 million. No information exists on allocations to LGBTQI+ activities.
This comes on the heels of USAID drawing intense scrutiny for its supposedly noble Africa programmes, some of which allegedly funded extremist groups Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al-Shabaab in Somalia. So, who is telling the truth? Let us know in the comments.
Sources
https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/03/05/lesotho-lgbtq-trump/
https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/africa/southern-africa/lesotho
https://www.reuters.com/world/lesotho-insulted-after-trump-says-nobody-has-heard-country-2025-03-05/
https://foreignassistance.gov/cd/lesotho
https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/africa/southern-africa/lesotho