Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) January 2011 'If We Govern Ourselves, Whose Son is to Govern Us?': Youth, Independence and the 1960s in Lesotho John Aerni-Flessner Washington University in St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd Recommended Citation Aerni-Flessner, John, "'If We Govern Ourselves, Whose Son is to Govern Us?': Youth, Independence and the 1960s in Lesotho" (2011). All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs). 9. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd/9 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN SAINT LOUIS Department of History Dissertation Examination Committee: Timothy Parsons, Chair Jean Allman Mary Ann Dzuback Nathan Jensen Shanti Parikh Lori Watt 'IF WE GOVERN OURSELVES, WHOSE SON IS TO GOVERN US?': YOUTH, INDEPENDENCE AND THE 1960s IN LESOTHO By John Aerni-Flessner A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2011 Saint Louis, Missouri Copyright by John Aerni-Flessner May 2011 Acknowledgments There is only one name on the title page of this dissertation. This requirement means that the multiple and compounding debts that I accrued in the course of finding, defining, researching and writing this thesis have to be made good on this page. I could not have completed this project without the selfless and untiring efforts of many people on multiple continents and I thank them all. The errors that remain have slipped through, at times, against the better judgment of my readers and I alone am responsible for those that are still in the text. My dissertation committee has been wonderful at every step of the process, and a special debt of gratitude goes to my adviser, Timothy Parsons, for nurturing this project from an ill-formed and almost non-conceived idea in a graduate admissions essay to a fully-fledged project. For an almost super-human ability to offer perceptive criticisms and constructive suggestions in an inconceivably short time frame, I will forever be grateful. To Jean Allman, who has given generously of her time to read countless drafts of grant applications to fund this project as well as the individual chapters, I am also profoundly indebted and thankful. I also need to thank Lori Watt, Mary Ann Dzuback, Shanti Parikh and Nathan Jensen for perceptive reads of the draft as well, and for their support through the entire graduate school process. Robert Edgar, Cameron Monroe and Robert Vinson also played substantive roles in the early stages of this project and my graduate training, and imparted their wisdom on the process of being not only a good scholar, but a constructive member of the communities in which we all live and work. This work owes a tremendous debt to many people in Lesotho who provided support during my years of teaching, studying and researching in country. I am sure that I will miss people, but a list is in order. At the National University, thanks go to Ntate Maimane and the members of the African Languages and Literature Department who helped me struggle through learning Sesotho, as well as the staff of the Institute for Southern African Studies, especially 'Me Matekane Leotlela, for having me as a Visiting Research Fellow in 2008-09. The Department of Historical Studies, especially Bo-ntate Motlatsi Thabane, Tefetso Mothibe and Jesmael Mataga, provided a wonderful intellectual home and a sounding board for my ideas. 'Me Tebello at the Lesotho National Archives, 'Me Mathabo at the NUL Institute of Education, Ntate Sekhonyela Molapo at the NUL archives, and the entire staff of the Morija Museum and Archives were marvelously helpful in my quest for documentation. Ntate Stephen Gill at Morija was a wonderful source of informant contacts, a fount of Lesotho historical knowledge and a helpful ear for the development of my ideas. Scott Rosenberg was an asset on the ins-and-outs of setting up and conducting historical research in Lesotho. Ntate Teboho Mokotjo, whom I met in the archives at Morija, was a skilled and talented translator who saved me much time. I am especially grateful to the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Maseru, Roma, and St. Rodrigue for providing me with a welcoming community in Lesotho every time I have been in country. The staff at Moeletsi oa ii Basotho were welcoming and generous with their time in helping me go through the photographic archive of the newspaper. Matt Morley, Kimberly Pal Keeton, Maboleba Kolobe, Leseli Leseli, Kennedy Matsepe, and Chris Conz all helped me to find informants through their word-of-mouth networks. My graduate school colleagues have provided much needed support and feedback over the years as well. Matthew Stewart, Muey Saeturn, Janek Wasserman, Sara Jay, Steve Schrum, Scott Morris, Kevin Butterfield, Ben Dyer and Tanya Roth immediately come to mind, but the entire graduate community at Washington University has been supportive. Pieces of this work were presented for constructive feedback to the Dissertation Writer's Workshop at Washington University, as well as the Faculty of Humanities Seminar Series at the National University of Lesotho. The History Department staff at Washington University, Sheryl Peltz and Margaret Williams, have been fabulous to me over the years, putting up with my “wrong” baseball affiliations, and helping me sort through red-tape and procedural snafus. The Department of History has been generous with its support of me over the years, as has the Department of International and Area Studies at Washington University. My dissertation research was made possible through a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship, for which I am grateful. I also need to thank my undergraduate alma mater, Grinnell College, for sending me to Lesotho in the first place, and my mentor George Drake for helping to initiate, nurture and encourage my interest in the southern African region. My parents, siblings and extended family family have been another bedrock of emotional support, and were all willing to give their time for proofreading my manuscript as well. And, of course, having the fantastic and ever-present support of my wife Lauren was essential. This project does not come to fruition as quickly or as successfully without her encouragement, and her willingness to put up with my frequent absences to southern Africa. My life is infinitely richer for having her in it. iii Contents COPYRIGHT: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: ii CONTENTS: iv LIST OF MAPS AND PHOTOGRAPHS: v CHAPTERS: 1. Youth, Independence and the 1960s in Lesotho 1 2. The Unity Question, 1945-60 47 3. Political Difference and the Nation, 1960-66 99 4. Development and Youth, 1960-70 132 5. Engagement with Global Ideas, 1955-70 188 6. Generational Difference and Independence, 1960-70 245 7. Twenty-First Century National Echoes 303 BIBLIOGRAPHY: 311 iv List of Maps and Photographs MAPS: PAGE: 1. Lesotho Political Map 3 2. Southern Africa Regional Map 6 3. Lesotho Diamond Mines 141 4. Phamong, Roma, Dewetsdorf and Tsoelike Auplas 204 PHOTOGRAPHS: PAGE: 1. Catholic Relief Services 165 2. Kindergarten Class, 1970 175 3. John Motloheloa Selling Newspapers 209 4. The Seboka, 1925 210 5. April 27, 1968 Headline in Moeletsi oa Basotho 233 6. Cadets Practicing for Independence Celebrations 263 7. Jonathan at a Campaign Rally, 1970 278 8. Independence Poster 284 9. Independence Celebrations Program 292 10. 1st Anniversary of Independence 294 11. Cadets Marching in Maseru 295 12. Moshoeshoe Day Celebration, 2009 306 v Chapter 1: Youth, Independence and the 1960s in Lesotho Maleseka Kena was born and raised in East Griqualand (now the Matatiele District), South Africa hard up on the mountainous southern border of Lesotho.i She moved to Lesotho in 1954 as a twenty-one year old to work as a teacher's assistant in the remote mountain community of Mashai. In the fashion of a timeless love story, she met Jacob Kena, whom the British colonial government had stationed there as an agricultural demonstrator. Married in 1956, they still live overlooking the Orange River Valley in the rural Qacha's Nek District village of Tsoelike Auplas, now in their sixth decade of marriage. Their married life, however, has involved many long absences as Jacob was heavily involved in politics in South Africa and Lesotho. A member of both the African National Congress (ANC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP), the Kenas moved back and forth between Lesotho and South Africa until 1964 when, declared personae non gratae, they moved permanently to Tsoelike Auplas, where Jacob's mother was living. In Lesotho, Jacob helped start the Communist Party of Lesotho in 1961, and made at least one unsuccessful run for Parliament on their ticket. Arrested after the Lesotho government's declaration of a State of Emergency in the wake of the nullified 1970 elections, Jacob spent years upon his release from prison in exile in other southern African countries, as well as the USSR and East Germany. Maleseka, on the other hand, settled into Tsoelike Auplas after 1964, raising seven children and seeing them all graduate from at least high school, some going on to i The country is today known as Lesotho—the land of the Sotho people. During colonial times, it was officially known as Basutoland, but as this was a colonial creation, I will refer to it throughout this work as Lesotho unless making explicit reference to the legal government.