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1994 Lesotho Coup D'état
The 1994 Lesotho coup d'état was a successful self-coup in Lesotho by King Letsie III along with the military and the backing of several political parties against the democratically elected Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) government led by Ntsu Mokhehle. Using a petition signed by two political parties - the Basotho National Party and the Marematlou Freedom Party - which called for the dissolution of the present Lesotho government and the restoration of his father Moshoeshoe II as monarch as pretext, he promptly suspended parts of the constitution, dissolved parliament, and replaced the government with an appointed provisional council that would govern until promised elections. In the following day on August 18, a protest held by thousands of BCP supporters denouncing the king's illegal and unconstitutional power-grab in the nation's capital of Maseru turned violent, resulting in four deaths and at least ten injuries. From August 17 until September 14, the appointed provisional c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maseru
Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. The city was established as a police camp and assigned as the capital after the country became a British protectorate in 1869. When the country achieved independence in 1966, Maseru retained its status as capital. The name of the city is a Sesotho word meaning "red sandstones". History Maseru was founded by the British as a small police camp in 1869, following the conclusion of the Free State–Basotho Wars when Basutoland became a British protectorate. Maseru is located at the edge of the "conquered territories" relinquished to the Orange Free State (now the Free State province of South Africa) as part of the peace terms. It was located west of Basotho King Moshoeshoe I's stronghold of Thaba Bosiu, the previous ''de facto'' capital. A bust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
