Abstract: The Chieftainship in Lesotho was defined by the aspirations of the Chiefs, the Paramount Chief, and the colonial authorities in Lesotho from 1884–1940s. During the twentieth century contradictory interests caused increasing friction that culminated in the “medicine murder” crisis of the 1940s. Motsoene Molapo, born of an arranged marriage orchestrated by his great-grandfather Moshoeshoe, destined to be the King who would unite the houses of the founders two eldest sons, would rather spend most of his life being shunned by both. Motsoene would find himself a pawn of both the Paramount Chiefs and the Chiefs of Leribe in many succession disputes. After his death in 1937 both his brother and the colonial government disregarded his wishes and sought to place a less assertive grandson as Chief of Leribe. These disputes illustrate how Basotho actors and the colonial government manipulated succession to achieve their goals.