Lesotho’s beleaguered prime minister, Thomas Thabane, has resigned, ending a months-long crisis that engulfed the poor mountain kingdom after he was accused of having a part in his ex-wife’s murder. Lipolelo Thabane, 58, was shot several times at close range as she sat in a car outside her home, two days before her husband’s inauguration. She had reportedly refused a divorce and won a court battle to retain her privileges as first lady.
Lesotho’s first lady is set to be charged with murder in connection with the 2017 killing of her husband’s ex-wife. Maesaiah Thabane, who fled the country on 10 January to escape arrest, returned to the African kingdom on Tuesday afternoon and handed herself into police in the capital Maseru. The killing occurred two days before the prime minister’s inauguration for a second term.