Welcome to Lesoma

Lesoma’s recent history is traced to the 1870s when one of Khama IlI’s chief hunters, Maruza took him to the area. This village is located within the Lesoma valley, 10 km south-east from Kazungula and sits on the border with Zimbabwe to the east and the Kasane Forest Reserve to the north, west, and south. Lesoma was a busy trading post by the 1880s, on crossroads to Kazungula and Victoria Falls

The original inhabitants are Basarwa (Banabya and Bakwengo), who were later joined by the Ndebele. Because of its location, Lesoma was a major flashpoint during Zimbabwe’s war of liberation (1964-1979), with Ian Smith’s Rhodesian forces occasionally crossing into the village in pursuit of freedom fighters. The village is the site of an ambush in 1978, mounted by Smith’s Rhodesian forces that killed fifteen (15) members of the newly formed Botswana Defence Force (BDF).