The 1994 Lesotho coup d'état was a successful

self-coup A self-coup, also called an autocoup () or coup from the top, is a form of coup d'état in which a political leader, having come to power through legal means, stays in power illegally through the actions of themselves or their supporters. The le ...

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

King Letsie III Letsie III (born Mohato Bereng Seeiso; 17 July 1963) is King of Lesotho. He succeeded his father, Bereng Seeiso Moshoeshoe II, who was forced into exile in 1990. His father was briefly restored in 1995 but died in a car crash in early 1996, so ...

along with the military and the backing of several political parties against the democratically elected

Basutoland Congress Party The Basutoland Congress Party is a pan-Africanist and left-wing political party in Lesotho. The Basutoland African Congress (BAC) was founded in 1952 by Ntsu Mokhehle and Potlako Leballo. The party was renamed the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP ...

(BCP) government led by

Ntsu Mokhehle Ntsu Mokhehle (26 December 1918 – 6 January 1999) was a Lesotho politician, who founded Basutoland African Congress (BAC) in 1952. He founded Basutoland Congress Party in 1957 then later in 1997 founded Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). H ...

. Using a petition signed by two political parties - the

Basotho National Party The Basotho National Party is a political party in Lesotho, founded in 1959 in colonial Basutoland as the Basutoland National Party by Leabua Jonathan. He was Prime Minister from the 1965 Basutoland general election, 1965 general election until t ...

and the Marematlou Freedom Party - which called for the dissolution of the present Lesotho government and the restoration of his father

Moshoeshoe II Moshoeshoe II (2 May 1938 – 15 January 1996), previously known as Constantine Bereng Seeiso, was the Paramount Chief of Basutoland, succeeding paramount chief Seeiso from 1960 until the country gained full independence from Britain in 1966. ...

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 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. T ...

turned violent, resulting in four deaths and at least ten injuries. From August 17 until September 14, the appointed provisional council, consisting 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 Monyake is a community council located in the Mohale's Hoek of Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the large ...

, 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 The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Goals The SADC's goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and se ...

(SADC), namely

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, 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

{{Coup d'état Military coups in Lesotho

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

Lesotho coup d'état Lesotho 1994 coup d'état Self-coups