The 1994 Lesotho coup d'état was a successful
self-coup in
Lesotho
Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...
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 council, comsisting of
Hae Phoofolo Haae Edward Phoofolo (born 1947) served as interim prime minister of Lesotho from 17 August 1994 to 14 September 1994. Son of an Anglican clergyman, Phoofolo was born in Ladybrand, South Africa. He received his secondary education in 1969 and a join ...
(chairperson),
Mamello Morrison,
Retselisitsoe Sekhonyana,
Monyake Moletsane,
Khauta Khasu and
Mathabiso Mosala, managed the country with Hae Phoofolo acting as ''de facto'' Prime Minister.
Through mediations by the
Southern African Development Community (SADC),
namely
Botswana,
Zimbabwe, and
South Africa, the BCP government was finally reinstated following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding of the Measures and Procedures Relating to the Restoration of Constitutional Order in Lesotho.
The agreement stipulated the cancellation of the commission investigating Moshoeshoe II's dethronement, immunity for King Letsie III and the coup participants from legal actions and otherwise, among other things.
Moshoeshoe II ultimately was restored to power in 1995 with his son abdicating the throne.
In 1996 however, he died in a car accident, resulting in Letsie III once again becoming king.
References
{{African coups d'état
Military coups in Lesotho
coup d'état
Lesotho coup d'état
Lesotho 1994 coup d'état
Self-coups