General Justin Metsing Lekhanya (7 April 1938 – 20 January 2021) was the Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Military Council of Lesotho from 24 January 1986 to 2 May 1991.

Background

Born in

Thaba-Tseka Thaba-Tseka is the capital city or camptown of the Thaba-Tseka District in Lesotho. It has a population of 15,248 (2016 census). Thaba-Tseka was also the subject of the case studies in James Ferguson's book ''The Anti-Politics Machine'', which i ...

in 1938, Lekhanya completed his primary and secondary education in Roman Catholic Schools. After working as a migrant mine worker in South Africa, he joined the Basutoland Mounted Police in 1960. He became the only Masotho officer heading a paramilitary Police Mobile Unit (PMU) platoon soon after its formation in 1965. During the early 1970s, he received trainings at police academies in South Africa and Rhodesia, and later assumed command of the PMU as a Major General in 1975. Lekhanya also oversaw its transformation into the Lesotho Paramilitary Force, later known as Lesotho Defence Force.

In power

Lekhanya was commander of the army when he overthrew Prime Minister

Leabua Jonathan 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. Early life and career Born in Le ...

in a 1986 military coup following revelations that he had been the victim of a hoax by two Pan-Africanist Congress military commanders exiled from South Africa,

Potlako Leballo Potlako Kitchener Leballo (19 December 1924–January 1986) was an Africanist who led the Pan Africanist Congress until 1979. Leballo was co-founder of the Basutoland African Congress in 1952, a World War II veteran and primary school headmaster ...

and Bernard Leeman. They had served Lekhanya as a Lesotho Paramilitary Force Major in 1977 under a false identity. The hoax had resulted in Lekhanya financing the Lesotho Liberation Army against himself. Lekhanya immediately sought to improve relations with South Africa, which were strained due to Jonathan's support of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

. Lekhanya also gave more power to Lesotho's king at first, but later came into dispute with him, and he deposed the king in another military coup in 1990. The king was later restored, and Lekhanya was overthrown in a 1991 military coup.

In opposition

Instead of retiring, Lekhanya contested the

Mantsonyane Mantšonyane is a town in central Lesotho. It is located southeast of the capital Maseru, close to the western approach to the Mokhoabong Pass, on a high mountain plateau between the towns of Marakabei and Thaba-Tseka, in the Thaba-Tseka Distr ...

constituency in the 1993 election as a BNP candidate but lost. Lekhanya then became leader of 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 general election until the 1986 coup d'état. In the ...

(BNP), an opposition party, replacing Retselisitsoe Sekhonyana, which had only a few seats in the parliament and, according to Lekhanya, was the victim of fraud in several elections. Lekhanya was elected as Party Leader of the BNP at its Conference in March 1999,"Committee of Privileges Reports to Parliament; Opposition MP Bereng Sekhonyana Murdered"
, Summary of Events in Lesotho - 2nd Quarter 2006, trc.org.ls. and he was re-elected as Party Leader at the BNP Conference held on March 31–April 1, 2001. In the May 2002 parliamentary election, Lekhanya, the BNP candidate for the Mant'sonyane constituency, was defeated by Masuthang Taole of the ruling

Lesotho Congress for Democracy The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) is a political party in Lesotho. In 1997, Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle left the Basutoland Congress Party to form with his faction the new Lesotho Congress for Democracy. The new party won the 1998 ele ...

(LCD), receiving 28.5% of the vote against Taole's 49.1%. He was, however, elected to the National Assembly through

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

., Lesotho Parliament website. On 31 May 2006, Lekhanya was temporarily suspended from the National Assembly in connection with alleged intimidation of the Speaker of the National Assembly, which the BNP leadership was said to have condoned and abetted, according to a motion of the National Assembly and a subsequent report from the Committee of Privileges. Four other MPs from the BNP were also suspended, but for lesser periods of time. In December 2010, Lekhanya was ousted as the party leader after a supermajority on a vote of no confidence on him. On 20 January 2021, Lekhanya died at Makoanyane Military Hospital in

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 ...

Background

In power

In opposition

References

Further reading