Lesotho's military strongman Major General Justin Lekhanya on Saturday sent King Moshoeshoe II into exile in Britain.
He told the nation in a radio broadcast he had asked Moshoeshoe to leave and escorted him to the frontier to board a British-bound plane from South Africa.Lekhanya once shared power with the monarch in the landlocked mountainous kingdom surrounded by South Africa.
But a bitter struggle flared last month when Lekhanya stripped Moshoeshoe of his executive and legislative powers.
Lekhanya, who led a bloodless coup in 1986 and heads a six-man ruling military council, said he had asked Moshoeshoe to take "a brief sabbatical in the United Kingdom, which would allow ample opportunity for reflection."
The military strongman pushed Moshoeshoe aside in February. The king had opposed Lekhanya's request to fire and arrest four council members accused of insubordination and obstructing justice.
Moshoeshoe fled into exile in 1970 in another crisis when he was reduced to a figurehead role by then-Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan, who was himself ousted in the 1986 coup.
Jonathan's downfall was prompted by a land blockade by South Africa, which crippled Lesotho's economy. The military council headed by Lekhanya restored close relations with South Africa.