Lesotho’s former prime minister, Thomas Thabane, has been charged with the murder of his estranged wife in a case that has shocked the southern African kingdom.
Lesotho’s former prime minister Thomas Thabane was charged on Tuesday .
Lipolelo Thabane was shot dead as she sat in her car near her home in the capital, Maseru, days before Thomas Thabane was sworn in as prime minister in June 2017.
Thabane, 82, is accused of hiring hitmen to kill Lipolelo in June 2017, two days before the prime minister’s inauguration.
Reading out the charges, High Court clerk Tebello Mokhoema said Thabane “did unlawfully and intentionally cause the death of Lipolelo Thabane” on 14 June 2017.
Five co-defendants in the trial include Thabane’s young wife Maesaiah, who was controversially granted bail in June.
The other four are suspected hitmen allegedly hired by Thabane and Maesaiah to kill Lipolelo Thabane, 58.
Thomas Thabane resigned in May 2020 after pressure to quit from his All Basotho Convention (ABC) party, opposition figures and South African mediators.
The case will be heard on 8-10 March, 2022.
