were numbered. During the late 1970s, Jonathan, despite his regime's protests to Libya, nevertheless accused the South African government of supporting the Lesotho Liberation Army (LLA). Mokhehle did go to Pretoria but only in late 1981. The main LLA force was wiped out in 1979 but later recruits were assisted by a Transkei-based American mercenary with Rhodesian army service, Major Bob MacKenzie, son-in-law of the former CIA deputy-director, Ray Steiner Cline, a former member of the 1969 Nixon administration. The South African government denied these claims but later admitted Mokhehle was part of the notorious Vlakplaas operation. Much of Leabua's unsavoury early political life history has been obscured by his late opportunistic alliance with the ANC, which itself was a highly controversial organisation despite its ostensibly principled stance against apartheid. The best accounts of Leabua's life are in archive material (included over 20 hours of audio recordings of Basotho leaders) provided to university collections by a White Tanzanian intelligence officer, Lt. Gen. Bernard Leeman, who served as a Major in the Lesotho paramilitary and gathered evidence supporting the view that the 1970 was peaceful and the Police Mobile Unit was surprised when the state of emergency was proclaimed. Awards and recognition Dag Hammarskjöld award in 1983 Honorary PhD in education from the NUL in 1984 Companion of O.R. Tambo Award (gold) in 2007 (posthumously) Downfall and death On 20 January 1986, a military coup led by Major General Justin Metsing Lekhanya, under pressure both from Pretoria and the Leballo faction of the Pan Africanist Congress, deposed the Jonathan government. Leabua Jonathan was placed under house arrest in August 1986 and died of a heart attack on 5 April 1987 at the age of 72. References External links Chief Leabua Jonathan, 72, Dies; Ousted as Lesotho Head in a Coup, The New York Times, obituary, 6 April 1987, page B14 1914 births 1987 deaths Members of the National Assembly (Lesotho) Leaders ousted by a coup Prime Ministers of Lesotho Lesotho Roman Catholics Basotho National Party politicians Recipients of the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo Converts to Roman Catholicism People from Leribe District