Category: Short history of Lesotho

Writes Ratokelo Nkoka The Life of the Great King Moshoeshoe I, born Lepoqo is a fascinating one. His father, Mokhachane was the chief of the small Bamokoleli clan numbering around 4 000 at the time. His mother was Kholu, the daughter of Ntsukunyane of the Bafokeng clan. Lepoqo was born like any other ordinary boy […]

By Sofonea Shale Lesotho has for some time now been in the spotlight of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) agenda for its political instability and insurgencies that have defined it as a vulnerable state. This article looks at the legacy of the founding father, Morena Moshoeshoe and it challenges the current leadership to see […]

Writes Professor Tefetso Mothibe In 2024, Lesotho will celebrate two hundred years since its founding by Morena Moshoeshoe I. It is an important year as it marks the bicentenary of the existence of the Basotho state and nation, marked by the exodus of Moshoeshoe and his followers from Menkhoaneng to Thaba-Bosiu. This historic relocation to […]

Writes Kalosi Bantu Ramakhula (D.O.A.H) The 20th of December 1852 is probably the most important day in the history of the Basotho nation. On this day the Basotho army defeated the largest army the Imperial United Kingdom had ever fielded in Southern Africa at the time. In what Casalis describes as “perhaps the the most […]

Writes Kalosi Bantu Ramakhula (D.O.A.H) The 20th of December 1852 is probably the most important day in the history of the Basotho nation. On this day the Basotho army defeated the largest army the Imperial United Kingdom had ever fielded in Southern Africa at the time. In what Casalis describes as “perhaps the the most […]

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 […]

  Writes Professor Keneuoe Motsoene Lesotho is grappling with major issues on its path to a more prosperous and balanced future. Given its rich cultural history and resilient populace, Lesotho is finding its stride on the world stage mired by inconsistencies. For nearly a decade, Lesotho has been undertaking a journey of national reforms to […]

Writes Stephen Gill Introduction: Makhoarane as a site of cultural ferment In mid-1833, just nine years after Moshoeshoe and his people established themselves at Thaba-Bosiu, the citadel and ‘mother’ of the Basotho nation, from which Moshoeshoe was able to expand many-fold the territory under his suzerainty, ‘teachers of peace’ arrived to add a new element […]

Writes Manyathela Kheleli The history of the Basotho nation recognises the exodus of the nation from Menkhoaneng to Thaba Bosiu by the great King Moshoeshoe I and his people in 1824 as the turning point in history that marks the formation and the fortification of the Basotho nation that we know today. In a story […]