The Regent

46. The Regent (1) The College of Chiefs may at any time designate, in accordance with the customary law of Lesotho, the person (or the persons, in order of prior right) who shall be Regent, that is to say, who shall exercise the functions of the office of King in any of the following circumstances Page 30 circumstances (a) when the holder of that office has not attained the age of twenty-one years; or (b) when the holder of that office (and any person who has been designated as having a prior right to be Regent) is unable by reason of absence from Lesotho or by reason of infirmity of body or mind to exercise the functions of that office; or (c) when, in the circumstances specified in section 45(2) of this Constitution, the College of Chiefs has not yet made a designation in pursuance of that subsection, and if, in any of those circumstances, there is a person who has previously been designated in pursuance of this subsection and who is capable under the customary law of Lesotho of becoming Regent, that person (or, if there is more than one such person, that one of them who has been designated as having the first right to be Regent) shall become Regent. (2) if, in any of the circumstances specified in subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c), there is no person who becomes Regent under that subsection, the College of Chiefs shall, with all practical speed and in accordance with the customary law of Lesotho, proceed to designate a person to be Regent and the person so designated shall thereupon become Regent. (3) If the College of Chiefs fails within a reasonable time to discharge the duty imposed on it by subsection (2), the High Court may, upon the application of any person, itself designate a person to be Regent in accordance with the customary law of Lesotho and the person so designated shall thereupon become Regent. (4) A Regent shall not exercise the functions of the office of King at any time when a person is for the time being designated to exercise such functions in pursuance of section 45(3) of this Constitution. (5) Every designation made for the purpose of this section shall be published in the Gazette.