… As royal prayer session lays nation in God’s hands and in memory of King Moshoeshoe II Chief Masupha Seeiso has warned Basotho not to allow themselves to be divided as a result of polarisation by politicians, instead they remember what binds them together as a nation. The uncle to King Letsie III, Chief Seeiso uttered the message at the royal village of Matsieng on January 20 during an annual prayer session aimed at laying the country and the nation in the hands of God and in memory of the late King Moshoeshoe II who passed away on January 15, 1096.
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Jan. 25, 2019
4 min read
Politics worry monarch, chiefs
“The country needs salvation. Basotho divine intervention and need to work hard towards their future. They should always remind themselves what divided them in the first place. It looks like the incidents of 1970 when politicians used the people as their tools are still haunting the nation today,” observed Chief Seeiso. He said: “When it is convenient for politicians, they gather and camp at the Royal Palace and one would think they were building unity but when it is convenient again, they start calling each other names. “It is surprising that these same politicians claim that Lesotho's problems emanate from hunger and poverty, but ironically, the same people making these claims keep increasing the number of cabinet positions which requires more money. In the meantime, when they are called to account for their deeds they approach courts of law and appeal for reconciliation.” Reverend Tseliso Masemene expressed a concern over rampant corruption and crime describing them as self-inflicted wound and pain by the nation. These, he said, were evident through high numbers of rape incidents and killings of women, children and the elderly by those who are expected to protect them.
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He said: “If these incidents and corruption are not addressed, we will get to a point where no one will get any service in this country without bribing a government official. Politicians must also be warned that the nation has had enough of their games and if they think they are still going to benefit from polarising the nation, it is high time they think again.” According to Rev Masemene, the nation needs to be liberated from the past pains so that it can move forward to make Lesotho a better place. He said peace was not a far-fetched norm for Basotho as they lived and experienced it during the reign of King Mosheoshoe I because he made it a practice to work with religious leaders.
When explaining the purpose of the annual prayer event, Chief Seeiso Bereng Seeiso, the younger brother to King Letsie III, said the practice started way back as a celebration of some of the great-grand parents of the Royal Family. In the theme of this kind of prayer, the memory King Moshieshoe II also features high after he was involved in an accident that took his life on January 15, in 1996, barely a year after he was re-installed as the leader of the country after he had been dethroned in 1990. Born Constantine Bereng Seeiso on May 2, 1938, Moshoeshoe II was the descendant of the founder of the nation of Lesotho, Moshoeshoe, from whom he got his royal name. He became the paramount chief of Lesotho, taking over Seeiso. However, since he was still young, Seeiso’s first wife and his stepmother, Mantšebo, became his regent until he took over in 1960. Upon the country’s independence from Britain in 1966, he was crowned the king of Lesotho. Almost immediately, his reign experienced a series of problems.
In 1970, the country’s prime minister, Leabua Jonathan suspended Moshoeshoe II as king in a bid to re-establish control over the country after the former’s party lost out in the election. Moshoeshoe II was forced into exile in the Netherlands until eight months later when Chief Jonathan allowed him back to the country and back to the throne. This would not be the first time for the former king to be exiled. In 1986, Moshoeshoe II gained power following the overthrow of Jonathan, but only to be deposed in a military coup four years later and the throne taken over by his son and current king, Letsie III.
Moshoeshoe II came back to Lesotho from England in 1992 and reclaimed his throne in 1995. He came back at a time when the country was in deep discussions over the essence and role of the monarchy, creating divisions between the pre- and anti-monarchy factions and between one group that wanted him as king and the other that wanted Lestie III to continue ruling, leading the country into a constitutional crisis. He was reinstated in a deal brokered by countries including South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe in September 1994. On January 26, 1995, he took over the throne after his son abdicated. He ruled only for a year. He died on January 15, 1996, in a tragic road accident as he was returning to Maseru.
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