Photograph — iHarare News

A warrant of arrest has been issued for Lesotho’s first lady, Maesiah Thabane, in connection with the murder of her husband’s former wife, Lipolelo Thabane.

The 58-year-old Lipolelo was entangled in a difficult divorce before she was shot dead while travelling home with a friend on the outskirts of Maseru on the eve of her husband’s inauguration in June 2017. Shortly after this, Maesiah got married to Thomas Thabane.

Maesiah Thabane has been identified as a suspect for the murder of Lipolelo Thabane. The Police say she has barricaded herself in the prime minister’s official residence in Maseru after refusing to report Friday morning for questioning in connection with the 2017 murder of Lipolelo Thabane.

Armed police who went to search for her at the official residence of Prime Minister Thomas Thabane on Friday were unable to find her. Till now, her whereabouts remain unknown. The government spokesperson Nthakeng Selinyane told BBC’s Focus on Africa programme that the police are ready to request for international support.

Members of Thabane’s All Basotho Convention (ABC) party publicly shared suspicions that the death was an attempt to disrupt the 2017 political transition, but opposition leaders denied those claims and in October 2018 expressed concern that the government was shutting down the murder investigation.

No arrests have been made since the case arose but the Police chief, Holomo Molibeli has claimed that the prime minister was involved in the murder. Evidence from this week’s investigation shows that the prime minister’s phone was used at the murder scene. This detail came to light when Thabane unsuccessfully tried to suspend Molibeli from his position as the commissioner pursuing the investigation.

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