Military Chief Sends Lesotho King to Temporary Exile

King Moshoeshoe II, stripped of authority over his tiny mountain kingdom, left for temporary exile in Britain on Saturday after refusing to endorse the actions of Lesotho’s military ruler in a recent power struggle.

Maj. Gen. Justin Lekhanya said in a radio broadcast that he had asked Moshoeshoe, 51, to take “a brief sabbatical in the United Kingdom, which would allow ample opportunity for reflection.”

Lekhanya, who led a bloodless coup in 1986 and heads a six-member ruling military council, took away the king’s powers of assent after he opposed Lekhanya’s attempts to oust several members of the council who were accused of insubordination and obstructing justice.

The general said in his broadcast that he escorted the king to the frontier to board a plane from South Africa, which surrounds Lesotho. A source close to the events said Moshoeshoe took a chartered flight to Botswana for a connecting flight to London. He may take up residence at either Oxford University, where he studied previously, or Sweden’s University of Uppsala.

This is the second time that Moshoeshoe has gone into exile. Moshoeshoe fled in 1970 in another crisis when he was reduced to a figurehead role by Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan, who was himself ousted in the 1986 coup.

Jonathan’s downfall was prompted by a land blockade by South Africa, which crippled Lesotho’s economy. The military council headed by Lekhanya restored close relations with South Africa.