Commander of the Lesotho Defence Force
Incumbent
Lieutenant General Mojalefa Letsoela
since 23 January 2018
Reports toMinister of Defence
AppointerGovernment of Lesotho
Formation1978
WebsiteOfficial website

The Commander of the Lesotho Defence Force is the professional head of the Defence Force. He is responsible for the administration and the operational control of the Lesotho military.

List of chiefs

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (May 2019)
Portrait Commander Took office Left office Time in office Defence branch Ref.
Makhula Mosakeng
Mosakeng, MakhulaLieutenant general
Makhula Mosakeng		?12 September 1998? Lesotho Army[1]
Makhula Mosakeng
Mosakeng, MakhulaLieutenant general
Makhula Mosakeng		2000October 20043–4 years Lesotho Army[2]
Thuso Motanyane
Motanyane, ThusoLieutenant general
Thuso Motanyane
(born 1954)		October 200424 August 20116 years, 10 months Lesotho Army[3][4]
Phatoli Lekanyane
Lekanyane, PhatoliMajor general
Phatoli Lekanyane		24 August 201115 March 20126 months Lesotho Army[4][5]
Tlali Kamoli
Kamoli, TlaliLieutenant general
Tlali Kamoli
(born 1966)		15 March 201229 August 20142 years, 6 months Lesotho Army[5][6]
Maaparankoe Mahao
Mahao, MaaparankoeLieutenant general
Maaparankoe Mahao
(1968–2015)		29 August 2014February 20155 months Lesotho Army[6]
Tlali Kamoli
Kamoli, TlaliLieutenant general
Tlali Kamoli
(born 1966)		February 20151 December 20161 year, 10 months Lesotho Army[6][7][8]
Khoantle Motšomotšo
Motšomotšo, KhoantleLieutenant general
Khoantle Motšomotšo
(?–2017)		1 December 20165 September 2017 †278 days Lesotho Army[9][10]
Lineo Poopa
Poopa, LineoMajor general
Lineo Poopa
Acting		5 September 201723 January 2018171 days Lesotho Army[10]
Mojalefa Letsoela
Letsoela, MojalefaLieutenant general
Mojalefa Letsoela		23 January 2018Incumbent6 years, 34 days Lesotho Air Squadron[8][10]

References

  1. ^ Selsky, Andrew. "Report: Lesotho Chief Forced Out". apnews.com/. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  2. ^ Sunday Express (26 September 2017). "'Include Local Security Experts In Reforms'". sundayexpress.co.ls. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  3. ^ Rosenberg, Scott; Weisfelder, Richard F. (2013). Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press. pp. 386–387. ISBN 9780810879829. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b defenceWeb (1 September 2011). "Lesotho defence force gets new chief". Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b Lesotho Times (21 March 2012). "Shake-Up In Lesotho Defence Force". lestimes.com. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Peta, Basildon (13 October 2017). Ex-LDF chief Kamoli faces police interrogation. Pretoria News. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  7. ^ Army chief steps down after negotiations with the government. Economist Intelligence Unit. Published 10 November 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  8. ^ a b Lesotho Times (9 February 2018). "New Army Chief Speaks". Lesotho Times. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  9. ^ Ngatane, Nthakoana (1 December 2016). "Lesotho army commander retires". sabc.co.za. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Govt appoints new army commander. Lesotho Times. Published 27 January 2018.
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