Lesotho’s Former First Lady Arrested for Alleged Murder of Husband’s Ex-Wife

This past Wednesday, Lesotho's former First Lady Maesaiah Thabane was arrested and charged for the murder of former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's ex-wife, Liopelo Thabane. In 2017, Liopelo Thabane and a close friend were on their way home when they were both gunned down by a group of unknown men. The friend survived while Thabane died on the scene—two days before her husband's inauguration, according to local reports.

Scepticism followed almost immediately as it was revealed that Thabane had reportedly refused a divorce and subsequently won a court decision to retain her title as First Lady and all of the privileges that come with it. As a result, Maesaiah would simply be considered as a wife of a Prime Minister, with none of the perks.

Once eyebrows started raising and Maesaiah was called in for questioning, the Prime Minister's wife fled Lesotho to seek refuge in South Africa. Local authorities put out a warrant for her arrest over the murder, and in February of this year, Thomas Thabane himself was charged with the murder of his second wife.

After a few weeks in South Africa, Maesaiah returned to Lesotho and turned herself in to local authorities where she was formally charged with the murder of Liopelo Thabane in addition to the attempted murder of the woman accompanying her, according to a CNN report.

After his resignation in May, the Prime Minister's wife was originally out on bail until Lesotho's Appeal Court revoked it and had her rearrested. The magistrate stated in the recent ruling, "You will remain in the correctional facility," and went on to add, "You will report back on June 16, 2020 to find out the progress of your case."