Moshoeshoe , also spelled Mshweshwe, Moshweshwe, or Moshesh, original name Lepoqo (born c. 1786, near the upper Caledon River, northern Basutoland [now in Lesotho]—died March 11, 1870, Thaba Bosiu, Basutoland), founder and first paramount chief of the Sotho (Basuto, Basotho) nation. One of the