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Moshoeshoe the Diplomat. His Reign and 19th Century Politics During Lifaqane Wars.
By Professor LBBJ Machobane-
Scribe – Manyathela Kheleli
History tells the story of King Moshoeshoe I as one of the greatest leaders of his time in the 19th century that Africa has ever produced, He is widely acclaimed as the founding father of the Basotho nation as we know it today. He is the epitome of African diplomacy. Moshoeshoe was a charismatic, brave and wise king who survived many challenges and managed to protect his people and territory that we call Lesotho today. He was a deft politician with unparalleled foresight that was the envy of his peers. Moshoeshoe I is the only ruler in the region that was never defeated by the white settlers in Southern Africa during the 1800s, which is the reason why Basotho remain one of the few nations in Southern Africa that still enjoys its territory and sovereignty in the family of nations.
Moshoeshoe was like any other chief in the 1820s. He followed the norms and practices common with chiefs during the time. What characterised a chief in that era was for him to be known as a fierce fighter and to be strict, so that he could command and earn following from his people. In keeping with the chiefs at the time, Moshoeshoe was no different. He was also an equally ruthless man similar to his peers. Just like Shaka of the Zulu kingdom, who wreaked havoc in Southern Africa with his orchestration of the Lifaqane wars, he would kill when he was angry. Oral traditions reveal that Moshoeshoe, at different stages of his early life, killed those who delayed carrying out his orders. At one time, he even killed some men he accused of milking his favourite cows.
Recognising his intelligence at a tender age, Moshoeshoe’s grandfather, Peete or Motšoane sent him to Mohlomi to refine his leadership. Mohlomi the seer, was already a renowned philosopher and advisor with a mission of peace. He tutored Moshoeshoe at Ngoliloe, the present-day Clocolan. This is where Moshoeshoe underwent a lot of transformation that formed the foundation of his exceptional leadership qualities, which eventually enabled him to build a formidable nation.
It is said that Mohlomi used to take Moshoeshoe to the hills of Ngoliloe at dawn to witness the village waking up at sunrise. This was done to inspire Moshoeshoe to see the tranquility that prevailed with his subjects and the responsibility that lay ahead of him to protect and give them a livelihood. Mohlomi instilled the principles of peace and negotiation over war in Moshoeshoe’s mind. He also tamed his ruthless disposition and instilled in him the values of charity and diplomacy. This transformation was the turning point that would elevate Moshoeshoe into a great statesman, whose exemplary legacy continues to transcend generations as we know today.
Oral traditions reveal that when Moshoeshoe “graduated” from the teachings of his mentor, he rubbed his forehead against Moshoeshoe’s and by that action, Mohlomi said he had transferred all wisdom to him. Mohlomi gave him one of his earrings as a symbol of authority and a knobkerrie as a symbol of power. He also presented him with a headband and a knife carrier on his neck. The other chief who was tutored by Mohlomi, but did not graduate to be like Moshoeshoe, was Sebetoane who later tracked and settled in Barotseland in Zambia and parts of Zimbabwe.
Moshoeshoe’s rule was founded on the principles he learnt from Mohlomi. His rule was exemplary, and his intelligence was way above other chiefs and peers at the time. There are three main characteristics that defined Moshoeshoe’s rule. First, Moshoeshoe in many instances, preferred peace instead of war. Secondly, he was a calculating and clever diplomat. He had a peculiar foresight to correctly read situations and almost always chose options that were able to save his people. Moshoeshoe was also an astute administrator whose pulse was in the soul of his people.
In the promotion of peace over war, Professor Machobane compares the approach of Shaka and Moshoeshoe to that of Martin Luther King Jnr and Malcolm X in African American struggles in the United States. Both sets of leaders had a common enemy and they were both thinkers faced with the problem of white supremacy. They had to do their best to save their nations, but their approaches were different. In the case of Martin Luther and Malcolm X, Luther believed in achieving equality by using non-violence and promoting justice among all races. On the other hand, Malcolm X approached the same enemy from a context tainted by indignation, resentment and the desire for separation. By the same token, Shaka fought in defence of his nation except that he was harsher. He was a violent king who believed in violence as a solution to the challenges of the day.
In contrast, Moshoeshoe opted for peace and peaceful means to resolve conflict. He did however, go to war when he had very few options. Moshoeshoe recognised Shaka’s disposition towards war and even exploited it to set Shaka against his enemies. At the time, Shaka was a famous war strategist in Southern Africa, who had perfected his art of war, impi. He instigated Lifaqane, the period of intense political conflicts and migration in the 1820s. At the height of these wars, Moshoeshoe pre-empted Shaka’s attacks against him. To fend off the imminent wars, Moshoeshoe took advantage of Matiwane who had broken away from Shaka. He is said to have proclaimed to Shaka that he was his vassal and that Matiwane was troubling him. By extension, Moshoeshoe was effectively setting up Matiwane against Shaka, and based on their history, Shaka did invade Matiwane and defeated him. Peace prevailed between Basotho and the Zulu. Shaka’s successor, Dingane even spent a month at Thaba Bosiu discussing issues of mutual interest with Moshoeshoe at the time.
Moshoeshoe would also periodically give Shaka ‘masiba a li mpshe’ – ostrich feathers to avoid war with him and to express his allegiance. Ostrich feathers were used by historians in a play of metaphor because the feathers were actually a gift of beautiful women for his hospitality. He knew that Shaka liked the company of women, not wives.
During the exodus of his people from Menkhoaneng to Thaba Bosiu in 1824, a travel party that was trailing behind, mostly comprised of women, the elderly and children including his grandfather, Peete was ambushed by cannibals led by Rakotsoane. In this incident, Peete was eaten by the cannibals. Moshoeshoe sent his warriors to rescue his subjects and capture the cannibals. He did not counterintuitively kill the people who maimed and ate his grandfather. Instead, he performed a ritual to hit their bellies with the waste from the rumen of a cow mosoang. At a symbolic level, the rumen waste was the acknowledgment of his grandfather’s grave that was now inside the stomachs of living beings. He then gave Rakotsoane’s cannibals some cattle and grains, then integrated them with his people.
During the late 1830s and into the 1840s, Moshoeshoe began to encounter a new enemy, the white man. First, it was the Boer Afrikaners who left the Cape Colony coming further inland in search of better land and to avoid conflict with the British. The second was the British government itself in the Cape. Many wars ensued at the time, predominantly because of disputes over land. Despite capturing most of his land with guns, Moshoeshoe was never captured at the impregnable Thaba Bosiu mountain fortress. The closest the Boers ever got was in 1865, during the Seqiti wars where the Boer commander, Louis Wepener was killed trying to reach the summit of Thaba Bosiu.
The most famous war that Moshoeshoe fought was with the British in 1852 where the British were led by Sir George Cathcart, the governor of the Cape Colony in a dispute where Moshoeshoe could not honour the order to deliver 10 000 head of cattle and 1 000 horses as punishment for undertaking cattle raids. Cathcart had assembled the largest British army in Southern Africa at the time. His army was made of 2 500 men from the Cape Mounted Rifles and the 12th Royal Lancers. Cathcart’s army was also armed with two 12-pounder howitzers and rocket tubes.
On 19 December 1852, Cathcart and his men crossed the Caledon River divided into three forces for a confrontation against Basotho horsemen armed with old muskets, assegais and knobkerries at Berea plateau. The British suffered heavy losses and were eventually forced to retreat with about 4,000 herd of cattle recovered. The Governor of the Cape Colony was actually defeated in the war, but Moshoeshoe aware that he was fighting the Queen of England, did not gloat. He forbade his people from composing war songs to celebrate their victory. Instead, with his deft diplomacy, wrote a letter that said;
Your Excellency, this day you have fought against my people and taken much cattle. As the object for which you have come to have compensation for the Boers, I beg you will be satisfied with what you have taken. I entreat peace from you. You have shown your power, you have chastised me. Let it be enough. I pray you and let me no longer be considered an enemy of the Queen. I will try all I can to keep my people in order in the future.
The letter was written by one of his educated sons, Nehemia Sekhonyana. The letter was received at noon with Cathcart’s in full retreat and his ego bruised, to which he responded by praising Moshoeshoe for his consideration andalso expressed his satisfaction that the cattle they have taken are enough to cover the fine.
On leadership and administration of the affairs of his people, Moshoeshoe was extremely fond of public gatherings, Lipitso. He held these to report on the state of affairs of his nation. He also used public gatherings to discuss major issues of the day and to seek the advice of his subjects and his councellors, even though he had the final word. The most famous pitso ever held was in 1862 which was even attended by ambassadors from Amazulu and Amapondo tribes, Sek’huk’huni of Bapeli and other chiefs from as far as the present-day Zimbabwe. The main subject of discussion at this pitso was the discussion on the terms and modalities of getting the British to intercede in the encroachment of Afrikaners in the region. In keeping with Moshoeshoe’s remarkable foresight, this pitso can also be deemed to be the earliest proposal towards the formation of the present-day SADC. It demonstrates that Lesotho was the center of gravity for Southern African politics.
Public gatherings were held throughout Moshoeshoe’s time until only in 1903 during Lerotholi’s rule, who had been advised by the British colonial rule that pitsos have grown too big. The British replaced pitsos with the formation of the Basotho National Council composed mostly of chiefs.
The ailing Moshoeshoe later in his late 80s eventually got the British to annex Basutoland as a protectorate on 12 March 1868. At the time, he was restricted from buying modern weapons and ammunition, and he knew annexation was the only way to protect his people, especially from the Boers. It is important to note that Moshoeshoe wanted his land and people to become a British protectorate, not a colony. This position was also supported by the British High Commissioner at the time, Sir Phillip Edmond Wodehouse
Moshoeshoe died on 11 March 1870 at the age of 84. He was succeeded by his son, Paramount Chief Letsie I. At the time of his death, he led a nation of about 150,000 people. He remains one of the most visionary leaders to have come out of the African continent in the 19th century. He was the only king who was never completely defeated or killed by the encroaching whites in Southern Africa, not because of his fierceness, but largely through his diplomacy. In keeping with his wisdom, he was also never baptized, despite living with the missionaries for 37 years. His greatest legacy that remains to this date is the country called the Kingdom of Lesotho today with its territory completely surrounded by her only neighbour, South Africa.
Endnote: This article has been written using the transcription method. The informant, Professor LBBJ Machobane at the time of compiling this information has impaired sight due to illness but the wealth and depth of information at his disposal has warranted that we explore this avenue to bring this story to life.
