By Kefiloe Kajane
King Letsie III is also the senior most chief of the land. He was installed as the Principal Chief of Matsieng on December 16, 1989, a position he held until November 12 1990 when he was first sworn into the Office of King under the new Office of the King Order No. 14 of 1990, promulgated on November 6, 1990.
He was then named King Letsie III after King Letsie I, the eldest son of King Moshoeshoe I, the founder of the Basotho nation. He abdicated the position on January 25, 1995, the day on which His Majesty King Moshoeshoe 11 was reinstated.
From 1980 to 1984 he pursued his University education at the National University of Lesotho where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in law.
Between 1984 and 1986 he completed a Diploma in English Legal Studies at the University of Bristol in Britain. King Letsie III later spent a year at the University of Cambridge where he studied Development Studies, completing in 1989. At the same time, he enrolled with Wye College of the University of London where he studied Agricultural Economics.
In Lesotho, some of the responsibilities of chiefs are intervening on resolution of conflicts and maintenance of social justice. Mobilization of communities through local area village committees, participation in other council structures, protection of government property and heritage sites and maintenance of cultural and traditional roles.
Reminiscing on the time King Letsie III was the principal chief of Matsieng, the Principal Chief of Thaba-Bosiu Khoabane Theko spoke to theReporter that King has always been a humble person even in the early days he was principal chief.
Morena oa Thaba, as Chief Khoabane is fondly know, says the King always led people with courage and he never lost the common touch as he was accommodating and enjoyed cordial relations with his subordinate chiefs and fellow principal chiefs.
“As a principal chief at the time, he was the one who was at the helm of the pecking order as far as the chieftanship hierarchy is concerned. I wish him the happiest of birthdays, and may he continue being a humble leader and may God bless him,” he said.
