LEROTHOLI, LETSIE

Letsie Lerotholi (1836- 1905) was the first son of Paramount Chief Letsie I of the Basotho of what is now Lesotho. His mother, Mantai, was the second wife of Letsie I.

He succeeded his father to the paramountcy in 1891 and reigned over the Basotho nation until his death in 1905. Unlike his father, who was the first son of the first wife of King Moshoeshoe, Lerotholi’s right to the paramountcy was constantly challenged, especially by his half-brother Maama, the favoured son of Letsie’s fourth wife. Not issuing from the first house made his succession to the throne vulnerable to challenge by those chiefs who desired the authority vested in the paramountcy.

Prior to his assumption of the paramountcy, Lerotholi had distinguished himself as a chief by aligning with Chief Masopha, his uncle, in the 1880 eight-month Gun War, which resulted in the defeat of the Cape Colony administration forces a fiasco which cost the Cape Colony Treasury nearly £5,000,000. The Gun War was precipitated by an order from the Cape prime minister, Sir Gordon Sprigg, requiring the Basotho to hand over their arms in accordance with the Cape Peace Preservation Act of 1876.

Lerotholi opposed his father’s acceptance of the disarmament order. To resolve the conflict between the Cape Colony administration and the Basotho, an armistice was signed in 1881. It provided for the Basotho to keep their arms by paying an annual registration fee of f1 each. Although the peace terms were face saving for the Cape government, its administration over the Basotho was diminished. Perceiving this, the chiefs in Basotholand neither surrendered their guns nor paid their license fees.

Lerotholi’s reaction to the disarmament policy was so strong that he was quoted as saying: “If we have committed a crime and have trifled with the peace of the Queen then let it be said right out to us …. All that I have to say is that my gun belongs to the Queen and that I will follow the Queen about with this gun wherever she goes, and I will stick to it.” This was a profoundly diplomatic statement which reflected the turbulent realities of the period.

On the one hand, there were the intermittent battles with the Boers who had forcibly occupied some of the Basothos’ most fertile land in the Caledon River area, and whose ambitions to penetrate further were a well-known “secret”. This declared allegiance to the Queen was a calculated ploy to forge a stronger alliance which would stem further Boer military incursions and annexation of the remaining Basotho territory.

On the other hand, retention of arms would ensure self-defense against British attacks which were also taking place at this time against the African indigenous populations for the sake of territorial consolidation. Furthermore, Lerotholi and his two uncle chiefs, Masopha and Molapo, launched a series of assaults on those chiefs most of whom had been established near the magistracies and were Christian converts who had surrendered their arms to the high commissioner in compliance with the disarmament policy. As punishment for what was considered a betrayal, they were driven from their homes and their cattle were seized.

Locked in a marriage of convenience with the British on the one hand, and buffeted by aggressive Boer military suitors bent on outright occupation on the other, Lerotholi’s reign was marked by deep internal strife. In many instances, the warring Sotho clans formed factional alliances with these external forces. For example, there was a section of the Basotho which identified with their paramount chief in swearing alliance to the Queen; and there were those who followed Chief Joel Molapo in his territorial and authoritative disputes with Lerotholi and perforce sought an alliance with the Free State Boers. This proved advantageous to the Boers and British, who periodically fueled the fires when it suited them.

The power of the paramount chief vis-à-vis other local African authorities was enhanced and consolidated in 1897 when Lerotholi’s military forces, with the endorsement (if not actual support) of the British resident commissioner, prevailed over challenger Chief Masopha. Through the paramount chief, the victorious British now could control rebellious chiefs and thereby minimise the cost and deployment of the imperial forces.

Lerotholi died at about age 70 in 1905, popular with many subjects for the heroic role he had played in opposing the potentially catastrophic disarmament policy. To offset Boer expansionism he aligned himself with the British, often provoking opposition among his people and important chiefs, but seldom abdicating his privileges or rights. (Not that the British had no imperial designs. But they were viewed as the lesser of the two evils.)

His tolerance and accommodation for the missionaries was matched by a bold determination on the battlefield.

MOKUBUNG NKOMO