In 1994, riots spread through Lesotho after King Letsie III dissolved the country's first democratically-elected government for 20 years.

CNN: Monday,

U.S. applauded Somalia's progress, citing its first democratically-elected government and its successful efforts to push out al Qaeda-linked militants.

CNN: Africa: Top 5 stories of the week are ...

The thinking was that there would never be any meaningful development in Sierra Leone until a strong army, answerable to a democratically-elected government, was in place.

BBC: 'Building an army can be aid too'