The
estranged wife of incoming Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane has been shot
dead two days before his inauguration.
Lipolelo
Thabane, 58, was travelling home with a friend when both women were shot by an
unknown assailant, the police said. The police said the motive was unknown and
an investigation was continuing, BBC reported.
The couple
had been living separately since 2012 and filed for divorce which hasn’t been
granted yet. According to BBC southern Africa correspondent Karen Allen,
neighbours claim there had been an incident earlier in the week when a group of
unidentified men were spotted hammering on the First Lady’s door.
She won a
high court battle against her husband to secure the privileges of a First Lady,
instead of Mr Thabane’s youngest wife, Liabiloe, the AFP news agency reported.
Mr Thabane is now living with a third wife.
Samonyane
Ntsekele, the secretary general of Mr Thabane’s All Basotho Convention party,
told AFP that the prime minister was devastated by the shooting. “Everyone is
traumatised by these developments,” he said.
The election
took place earlier this month and was the third election in three years. There is a bitter power-struggle in the
country and Mr Thabane still has enemies in the military, our correspondent
adds. His inauguration is still expected to take place on Friday.
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