Leabua Jonathan
Encyclopedia
Joseph Leabua Jonathan (30 October 1914 – 5 April 1987) was the second Prime Minister of Lesotho. He succeeded Chief Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane
following a by-election and held that post from 1965 to 1986.
, Jonathan was a minor chief, like many others a great-grandson of the polygamous King Moshoeshoe I
.
Jonathan worked as a mine induna
at Brakpan and but because he was a chief he went back to Rakolo's in got involved in local government in Basutoland
from 1937 and was a member of delegations to London that sought self-government in Basutoland.
at independence. In the 1960 election Leabua came fourth in his electorate but the BNP won a slim majority in April 1965 elections on a minority vote. Leabua lost his seat and had to stand for election in a safe seat later. He took office as Prime Minister on 7 July 1965.
Soon after Basutoland gained independence in 1966 as Lesotho
, executive power was transferred from the British High Commissioner
to the Prime Minister. Jonathan's government was allegedly supported by apartheid South Africa, because Jonathan at the time thought that he could talk sense with Henrik Verwoerd and Balthazar Johannes Vorster who were both South African apartheid prime ministers at the time. Jonathan was hostile to both the Pan Africanist Congress and African National Congress
of South Africa who respectively supported the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) and Marematlou Freedom Party
(MFP). He forged links with the ANC after the PAC backed Lesotho Liberation Army, the exiled BCP military wing, prepared to attach Lesotho after 1976.
were conducted in January 1970. The first post-independence elections in 1970 were free from any serious incident and Chief Leabua was prepared to hand over to the BCP, which had won 36 of the 60 seats. He was dissuaded by senior ex-ministers and got the approval of British police commanders to launch a coup. BCP leaders were jailed without trial for between 2–3 years and then fled into exile in January 1974 after a failed uprising.
The King
, who was associated with the minuscule MFP, was had been humiliated and kept under house arrest since January 1967, was then sent to the Netherlands
and then Wantage
in England near Oxford
, where he had previously studied.
(ANC)when international advisers suggested Pretoria's days were numbered.
During the late 1970s, Jonathan, despite his regime's protests to Libya
, nevertheless accused the South African government of supporting the Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA). Mokhehle is fact did indeed go over to Pretoria but only in late 1981. The main LLA force was wiped out in 1979 but later recruits were assisted by a Transkei-based American mercenary with Rhodesian army
service, Major Bob MacKenzie, son-in-law of the former CIA deputy-director, Ray Steiner Cline, a former member of the 1969 Nixon administration. The South African government denied these claims but later admitted Mokhehle was part of the notorious Vlakplaas operation. Much of Leabua's unsavoury early political life history has been obscured by his late opportunistic alliance with the ANC, which itself was a highly controversial organisation despite its ostensibly principled stance against apartheid.
The best accounts of Leabua's life are in archive mateiral (included over 20 hours of audio recordings of Basotho leaders) provided to university collections by a White Tanzanian intelligence officer, Lt. Gen. Bernard Leeman PhD, who served as a Major in the Lesotho paramilitary and gathered evidence supporting the view that the 1970 was peaceful and the Police Mobile Unit was surprised when the state of emergency was proclaimed.
-Honorary PhD in Education by NUL in 1984
-Companion of OR Tambo Award (gold) in 2007 (posthumously)
in August 1986 and died of a heart attack on 5 April 1987 at the age of 72.
Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane
Chief Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane served as Prime Minister of Basutoland from 6 May 1965 to 7 July 1965....
following a by-election and held that post from 1965 to 1986.
Early life and career
Born in LeribeLeribe
Leribe may refer to:* Hlotse or Leribe, market town in Lesotho founded in 1876* Leribe District, a district in Lesotho...
, Jonathan was a minor chief, like many others a great-grandson of the polygamous King Moshoeshoe I
Moshoeshoe I
Moshoeshoe was born at Menkhoaneng in the Northern part of present-day Lesotho. He was the first son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bamokoteli lineage- a branch of the Koena clan. In his early childhood, he helped his father gain power over some other smaller clans. At the age of 34...
.
Jonathan worked as a mine induna
InDuna
InDuna is a Zulu title meaning advisor, great leader, ambassador, headman, or commander of group of warriors. It can also mean spokesperson or mediator as the izinDuna often acted as a bridge between the people and the king...
at Brakpan and but because he was a chief he went back to Rakolo's in got involved in local government in Basutoland
Basutoland
Basutoland or officially the Territory of Basutoland, was a British Crown colony established in 1884 after the Cape Colony's inability to control the territory...
from 1937 and was a member of delegations to London that sought self-government in Basutoland.
Politics and premiership
Jonathan converted to Catholicism and in 1957 founded the Canadian Catholic missionary backed Basutoland National Party (BNP, renamed Basotho National PartyBasotho National Party
The Basotho National Party is a political party in Lesotho, founded in the 1959 as the Basutoland National Party by Leabua Jonathan. He was Prime Minister from 1965 until the coup of 1986....
at independence. In the 1960 election Leabua came fourth in his electorate but the BNP won a slim majority in April 1965 elections on a minority vote. Leabua lost his seat and had to stand for election in a safe seat later. He took office as Prime Minister on 7 July 1965.
Soon after Basutoland gained independence in 1966 as Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
, executive power was transferred from the British High Commissioner
High Commissioner for Southern Africa
The British office of High Commissioner for South Africa was responsible for governing British possessions in Southern Africa, latterly the protectorates Basutoland , the Bechuanaland Protectorate and Swaziland, as well as for relations with autonomous governments in the area...
to the Prime Minister. Jonathan's government was allegedly supported by apartheid South Africa, because Jonathan at the time thought that he could talk sense with Henrik Verwoerd and Balthazar Johannes Vorster who were both South African apartheid prime ministers at the time. Jonathan was hostile to both the Pan Africanist Congress and African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
of South Africa who respectively supported the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) and Marematlou Freedom Party
Marematlou Freedom Party
The Marematlou Freedom Party is a political party in Lesotho. It was originally formed in 1956 by Chief Seepheephe Matete and members of his Bafokeng clan as a pressure group called the Marema Tlou that succeeded in installing Constantine Bereng Seeiso as paramount chief in 1960...
(MFP). He forged links with the ANC after the PAC backed Lesotho Liberation Army, the exiled BCP military wing, prepared to attach Lesotho after 1976.
State of emergency
The first post-independence electionsLesotho general election, 1970
General elections were held in Lesotho on 27 and 28 January 1970, the first since independence in 1966. They were won by the opposition Basutoland Congress Party, but without announcing the results, the ruling Basotholand National Party declared a state of emergency, annulling the election,...
were conducted in January 1970. The first post-independence elections in 1970 were free from any serious incident and Chief Leabua was prepared to hand over to the BCP, which had won 36 of the 60 seats. He was dissuaded by senior ex-ministers and got the approval of British police commanders to launch a coup. BCP leaders were jailed without trial for between 2–3 years and then fled into exile in January 1974 after a failed uprising.
The King
Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho
Moshoeshoe II , previously known as Constantine Bereng Seeiso, was the paramount chief of Lesotho, succeeding paramount chief Seeiso from 1960 until the country gained full independence from Britain in 1966...
, who was associated with the minuscule MFP, was had been humiliated and kept under house arrest since January 1967, was then sent to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and then Wantage
Wantage
Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot....
in England near Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, where he had previously studied.
Racial policy and opposition to apartheid
Despite Lesotho's economic dependence on South Africa and the government's official policy during the 1970s of dialogue with its neighbour, Jonathan began criticizing the South African government's policy of apartheid supporting for the prohibited African National CongressAfrican National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
(ANC)when international advisers suggested Pretoria's days were numbered.
During the late 1970s, Jonathan, despite his regime's protests to Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, nevertheless accused the South African government of supporting the Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA). Mokhehle is fact did indeed go over to Pretoria but only in late 1981. The main LLA force was wiped out in 1979 but later recruits were assisted by a Transkei-based American mercenary with Rhodesian army
Rhodesian Army
The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of the Rhodesian Army, Royal Rhodesian Air Force, British South Africa Police, Rhodesian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Guard Force.- Rhodesian Army :...
service, Major Bob MacKenzie, son-in-law of the former CIA deputy-director, Ray Steiner Cline, a former member of the 1969 Nixon administration. The South African government denied these claims but later admitted Mokhehle was part of the notorious Vlakplaas operation. Much of Leabua's unsavoury early political life history has been obscured by his late opportunistic alliance with the ANC, which itself was a highly controversial organisation despite its ostensibly principled stance against apartheid.
The best accounts of Leabua's life are in archive mateiral (included over 20 hours of audio recordings of Basotho leaders) provided to university collections by a White Tanzanian intelligence officer, Lt. Gen. Bernard Leeman PhD, who served as a Major in the Lesotho paramilitary and gathered evidence supporting the view that the 1970 was peaceful and the Police Mobile Unit was surprised when the state of emergency was proclaimed.
Awards & recognition
-Dag Harmaschalt award in 1983-Honorary PhD in Education by NUL in 1984
-Companion of OR Tambo Award (gold) in 2007 (posthumously)
Downfall and death
On 15 January 1986, a military coup led by Major General Justin Metsing Lekhanya ironically under pressure both from Pretoria and the Leballo faction of the Pan Africanist Congress deposed the Jonathan government. Leabua Jonathan was placed under house arrestHouse arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
in August 1986 and died of a heart attack on 5 April 1987 at the age of 72.