His name's literal translation is Dispute, originated from accusations of witchcraft which were levied on a man in Menkhoaneng around the time of his birth.

The initiation school lasted for six months, during which Lepoqo was circumcised, learned the customs of his people, military tactics and ancient songs.

[8] Moshoeshoe and his followers, mostly the Bakoena Bamokoteli, some Bafokeng from his maternal side and other relations as well as some clans including the Amazizi, established his village at Butha-Buthe, where his settlement and reign coincided with the growth in power of the well-known Zulu King, Shaka and what is now known as the 'time of troubles' (previously known as 'Difaqane').

Nevertheless, most of the guns in Basotho possession were outdated flintlocks, which had flooded the South African market after the introduction of percussion lock muskets.

The Basotho were tasked with countering Boer incursions into the Cape during the course of the Great Trek, receiving an annual grant of 75 £ in money or ammunition.

In 1848, Cape governor Sir Harry Smith pressured Moshoeshoe into signing an agreement whereby he recognized British paramount authority over the lands north of the Orange River; while retaining his traditional rights.

A series of similar ambiguously worded treaties with local African tribes effectively established the Orange River Sovereignty.

[11][12] In the north-east, the Basotho and their Taung allies regularly engaged in tit for tat cattle raids against their old enemies the Batlokoa of Kgosi Sekonyela and the Koranna of Gert Taaibosch.

The British Resident in the Orange River Sovereignty Major Henry Douglas Warden believed that the Basotho were more to blame for the continuous inter tribal warfare in the region.

Warden began delineating borders between the various tribes in the north-east frontier, ignoring Moshoeshoe's long standing claims to several territories in the process.

[14] In October Moshoeshoe wrote to both Smith and Warden, explaining that he had acted in self-defense and intended to maintain cordial relations with the British.

In February 1852, the British agreed to redraw the boundaries in the south-west and to cease colonial interference into inter-tribal conflicts in exchange for the restoration of the cattle the Basotho had stolen since September 1850.

Negotiations fell through and Smith's replacement Major-General Sir George Cathcart was waiting for the hostilities with the Xhosa to wane before launching a punitive expedition against the Basotho.

In November 1853, the Basotho army defeated the Batlakoa and their Koranna allies at the battle of Khoro-e-Betloa, subsequently seizing their stronghold of Jwalaboholo.

Fearing that the destruction of the Basotho people was imminent, Moshoeshoe, his sons and local missionaries began appealing to British High Commissioner for Southern Africa Sir Philip Wodehouse and the Colony of Natal for protection.

Although initially reluctant to intervene, the British were worried by the disruption in trade caused by the war and the possibility of Boer expansion to the Pondoland coast.

Polygamy allowed Moshoeshoe to both forge alliances with other chiefs and increase his wealth as his subjects were expected to cultivate his wives' field per Sotho custom.

Similarly to the principal wife second ranking wives were women of power, who had separate houses, herds of cattle, fields and servants.

[23] Foreign visitors and Moshoeshoe's subjects were allowed to have sexual relationships with his third ranking wives, yet the children produced from such encounters were considered to be his.

Celebrations include the laying of wreaths on Moshoeshoe's grave at Thaba Bosiu by a delegation led by Lesotho's monarch, a celebratory parade and other entertainment activities.