MASERU - Lesotho's Prime Minister Thomas
Thabane will be charged with the murder of his late wife, the
deputy police commissioner said on Thursday, the latest twist in
a love triangle murder case that has stunned the southern
African highland kingdom.
The 80-year-old Thabane took to the radio to announce that
he would step down at the end of July, but he did not mention
the case.
He instead cited old age as a reason for quitting as premier
of the tiny, mountainous territory encircled by South Africa and
which has a long history of political instability.
Thabane had been under mounting pressure over the death of
former first lady Lipolelo, who was shot dead in June 2017 near
her home in the capital Maseru two days before he took office.
The prime minister's current wife, Maesaiah Thabane, was
detained this month and charged with ordering the murder, but is
currently out on bail.
"The prime minister is going to be charged with the murder.
The police are preparing directives and he will probably be
charged tomorrow," Deputy Commissioner of Police Paseka Mokete
told Reuters by telephone.
Both she and Thomas, who married two months after Lipolelo's
killing, have denied any involvement in her death.
His spokesman Relebohile Moyeye said by telephone that he
could not comment because he had not yet seen the police
charges.
Police say that Maesaiah, 42, hired eight assassins to kill
the former first lady but that she was not present at the
shooting.
Lipolelo, then 58, and Thabane were going through an
acrimonious divorce at the time. An unknown assailant shot her
dead in her car.
The prime minister's resignation comes days after his
party's executive council called for him to step down
immediately.
"I have served my country diligently," Thabane said on state
radio.
"I've worked for a peaceful and stable Lesotho. Today ... at
my age, I have lost most of my energy ... I hereby retire as
prime minister with effect from the end of July."
Thabane is set to appear in court on the murder charges on
Friday, the deputy commissioner said, adding that the charge
sheet had already been prepared but that Thabane's lawyers had
requested an extra day.
"I think it's high time he goes (from office) but I don't
know why it's taking so long. He has to go for the sake of the
nation," Malineo Stoffels, a 30-year-old businesswoman who sells
grilled meat and rice from a food van, said after listening to
the announcement on a taxi radio in Maseru.
"Everyone is talking about us (Lesotho), the economy has
gone down," she said. "It has to end".