Lesotho’s Prime Minister said he intends to
step down, following increased calls for his resignation over the murder of his
second wife, which police have linked to the woman he married a little over two
months later.
Thomas Thabane, 80 (pictured), was inaugurated
as Prime Minister of the tiny African mountain kingdom two days after his
second wife was shot in June 2017.
His
decision to resign was announced by Communications Minister Thesele Maseribane
on Thursday.
Earlier this month, court documents
showed that the country’s police chief asked Thabane to clarify why his mobile
phone number was linked to the crime scene, naming Thabane’s current wife,
Maesiah Thabane, as a suspect in the killing.
Thabane had
issued a notice to replace the police chief but withdrew it after the Lesotho
High Court intervened.
Maesiah has been on the run since
the police issued an arrest warrant last week. Neither she nor her husband have
commented on the murder case.
The opposition on Wednesday said it
would organize protests if Thabane doesn’t resign within seven days, while a
faction within his All Basotho Convention also urged him to step down.
Lesotho, a
mountain state encircled by South Africa, three-quarters of which lies more
than 1,800 metres above sea level, is one of the world’s poorest countries and
has one of Africa’s highest levels of HIV/AIDS prevalence the highest
murder rates on the continent.
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