Policing in the Mountain Kingdom
Lesotho is a mountainous, landlocked country surrounded by South Africa. Its high-altitude landscape and dispersed communities form the setting in which mounted policing developed. The historical background supplied by LMPS traces the introduction of formal policing to 1869, a year after Lesotho became a British protectorate on 12 March 1868.
The document describes stock theft and robbery among the challenges that highlighted the need for a formal law-enforcement organisation. It places these developments in the context of King Moshoeshoe I’s efforts to protect the Basotho nation amid regional conflict.
The establishment letter: 2 September 1871
The historical account reproduces a letter sent from Cape Town by the Colonial Secretary to the Governor’s Agent on 2 September 1871. It responds to proposals made at a meeting of Basutoland magistrates and approves a police establishment at each magistrate’s station.
The approved establishment comprised one chief constable, one constable who would act as an interpreter if possible, and two additional constables. The letter also authorised a lock-up in Maseru and lock-ups at the other stations. The transcription below is reproduced from the supplied historical background; its currency notation is retained as supplied.
I am directed by the Governor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 16th ultimo, submitting proposals made at a meeting of Basutoland magistrates with reference to the establishment at the several stations in that territory of a Police Force and I have to acquaint you in reply that His Excellency has been pleased to approve of the employment at every seat of Magistrate of one chief constable at $36 per annum, one constable at $18 (to act as Interpreter if possible) and two constables at $12 each per annum. You are also authorized to cause establishment of a proper lock-up to be contracted at Maseru at a cost not exceeding $50 and at each of the other stations at a cost not exceeding $35
Colonial Secretary to the Governor’s Agent, Cape Town, 2 September 1871 — transcription in the supplied LMPS historical background.
The Basutoland Mounted Police: 26 October 1872
The Basutoland Mounted Police (B.M.P.) was officially established on 26 October 1872 with an initial strength of 110 men. Many were sons of local chiefs. The supplied account connects this background to the name “Marena” used for police officers.
Each man was expected to bring a horse to carry out his duties. The early police supported magistrates and acted as messengers and interpreters. The document associates Charles Duncan Griffith with this formative period and records the adoption of military ranks by 1878 as the force’s responsibilities and size developed.
Early ranks and officers
The historical background records the following early establishment, totalling 110 men:
| Rank | Number |
|---|---|
| Inspector | 1 |
| Sub Inspector | 2 |
| Sergeant | 3 |
| Corporal | 4 |
| Private | 100 |
King Moshoeshoe I’s sons held leadership roles. Tlali Moshoeshoe served as an Inspector, while Sofonia and Ts’ekelo Moshoeshoe served as Sub Inspectors. The document identifies Tlalinyane, Tlali’s twin brother, as a Sergeant and connects his name to the Tlalinyane police post at Kolonyama in Leribe district.
Early camps and the move towards Maseru
The supplied account describes early policing around Mokema and Booker’s Hill, with Mokema cave used to shelter horses. It also connects the development of the police’s administrative base with Jackman’s Drift (Qoaling) and Maseru.
The document records the headquarters in Maseru in 1873. Its account of the movements and succession of Walter Carrie and Henry Booker contains names and details that require historical confirmation; those details are retained in the source document.
Branches of the service
The historical background names the following branches in its account of the organisation’s development. They are presented here as the branches listed in that document, rather than as a claim that every branch already existed in 1873:
Office of the Commissioner
Administration Branch
Intelligence Branch
Criminal Investigation Department
Police Training College
Police Mobile Unit
Stock Theft Unit
Signals Unit
Protective Security Unit
Transport and Traffic Branch
Leadership through the years
The historical document records both early administrators and later police commissioners. Its chronology begins in 1868, before the formal establishment of the Basutoland Mounted Police in 1872. The early administration entries and police leadership entries are therefore distinguished in the record below.
The document identifies Major General A. Namoli, appointed in 1972, as the first Mosotho Commissioner. It continues through the commissioners who served in subsequent decades and records Advocate Borotho Matsoso’s appointment on 24 May 2024.
The chronology follows the supplied historical background, including its two separate terms for Herbert Cecil Sloley and overlapping dates. Portraits and individual records can be explored on the Past Commissioners page.
| Name | Recorded term | Period |
|---|---|---|
| James Henry Bucker | 1868–1871 | Early administration |
| Charles Duncan Griffith | 1871–1884 | Early administration |
| Marshal James Clarke | 1884–1893 | Early administration |
| Godfrey Yeatsman Lagden | 1893–1901 | Early administration |
| Herbert Cecil Sloley | 1894–1895 | Early administration |
| Herbert Cecil Sloley | 1901–1916 | Early administration |
| Robert Thorne Corydon | 1916–1917 | Early administration |
| James Macgrager | 1917–1917 | Early administration |
| Edward Charles Frederick Garraway | 1917–1926 | Early administration |
| John Christian Ramsay Sturrock | 1926–1935 | Early administration |
| Major R.W. Booth O.B.E | 1937–1939 | Police leadership before 1972 |
| Major. F.A. Piers | 1940–1943 | Police leadership before 1972 |
| Major. A.H.Smith | 1943–1946 | Police leadership before 1972 |
| Lieutenant colonel C. H. Aprthorp | 1947–1949 | Police leadership before 1972 |
| Lieutenant Colonel L.W. Clarke | 1949–1952 | Police leadership before 1972 |
| Mr. Edwin Porter Arrowsmith | 1952–1956 | Police leadership before 1972 |
| Mr. Alan Geoffrey Tunstal Chaplain | 1956–1962 | Police leadership before 1972 |
| Mr. Alexander Falconer Giles | 1962–1966 | Police leadership before 1972 |
| Lieutenant Colonel B. R. Sands | 1966–1968 | Police leadership before 1972 |
| Mr. J.H. Hindmarsh | 1968–1970 | Police leadership before 1972 |
| Mr. F. J. Roach | 1970–1972 | Police leadership before 1972 |
| Major General A. Namoli | 1972–1973 | Basotho commissioners |
| Major General Bibi Azael Ntoi | 1973–1977 | Basotho commissioners |
| Major General Tumane Shadrack Matela | 1977–1986 | Basotho commissioners |
| Major General Lebitso Dingizwayo | 1986–1991 | Basotho commissioners |
| Major General Tengo T. Pinda | 1991–1996 | Basotho commissioners |
| Major General Bolutu V. Makoaba | 1996–1998 | Basotho commissioners |
| Commissioner Adv. E. Kahlolo Petlane | 1999–2000 | Basotho commissioners |
| Commissioner Jonas Sponkie Malewa | 2000–2004 | Basotho commissioners |
| Commissioner Adv. Malejaka E. Letooane | 2005–2012 | Basotho commissioners |
| Commissioner Kizito M. Mhlakaza | 2012–2014 | Basotho commissioners |
| Commissioner Khothatso Tsooana | 2014–2015 | Basotho commissioners |
| Commissioner Molahlei Letsoepa | 2015–2017 | Basotho commissioners |
| Commissioner Holomo Molibeli | 2017–2024 | Basotho commissioners |
Explore past commissioners and portraits
A continuing commitment to service
The companion document, website M, sets out the LMPS vision for a professional and accountable police service by 2030, providing safety and security in partnership with communities, with particular emphasis on crime prevention, reduction and detection.
Its mission calls for ethical policing, respect for human rights and the rule of law, and professional crime management in partnership with communities and other stakeholders. Trust, accountability, ethical conduct and transparency guide this commitment.
The service’s slogan expresses that relationship: “A police, a helper, a friend” — “Lepolesa, mothusi, motsoalle.”