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Lesotho killings: Former PM and wife pay criminal gang, court documents say
Thabane ordered the killing of Lipolelo Thabane to allow his current wife, Maesaiah to be the first woman, Lesotho police commissioner Paseka Mokete said in a written statement.
Lipolelo Thabane was fatally shot by gunmen near his home in the capital Maseru in June 2017.
He was negotiating divorce with Thabane before his death.
Documents state that the prime minister and his wife allegedly met with a gang head and promised them $ 177,000 and work to kill Lipolelo before his inauguration as prime minister, police said in a written statement.
Thabane also shared the ex-wife’s home address with her killer and they began monitoring Lipolelo’s movements, police said.
They tried to kill Lipolelo on June 12 but failed and he reported the incident to the police, according to Mokete.
They then attacked and killed Lipolelo two days later in the course of a meeting with an unnamed intermediary, who is now a state witness.
The broker is negotiating a truce between two women in Ficksburg, a small town in neighboring South Africa, according to a written statement.
Thabane married his current wife, Maesaiah, two months after Lipolelo was killed.
Maesaiah has been charged with the murder of Lipolelo and attempted murder of another woman, who was with the former first lady when she was killed.
The former prime minister has not been charged despite efforts by police to sue him. His lawyer argues that he has immunity because of his position.
Thabane stepped down from his post in May following months of pressure from his party to resign over alleged involvement in the case.
He will be charged with murder now that he is no longer in power, Mokete said.
Police arrested Maesaiah last week and his ransom was previously revoked due to technical problems.
The court ordered a new bail application and said a different judge must hear the case.
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