Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane. File Photo: GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP
Lesotho PM makes brief court appearance after skipping town
Prime Minister Tomas Thabane is accused of ordering a hit on his estranged wife in 2017, and made a brief court appearance on Monday
Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane. File Photo: GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / AFP
Lesotho’s high court, acting as a constitutional court, is to decide if a sitting prime minister can be charged with any crime, according to media reports.
The Guardian reported that prime minister Thomas Thabane made a surprise appearance in the Maseru Magistrate’s Court on Monday, where his lawyer argued that his office granted him immunity from prosecution for allegedly murdering his estranged wife, Lipolelo Thabane.
Not on the run
Thabane was to be charged with murder on Friday, but did not attend court, as he had to travel to South Africa, allegedly for medical treatment.
Thabane was seated in the public gallery as his lawyer, Qhalehang Letsika, argued that the murder charge against a sitting prime minister raised a constitutional issue that needed to be resolved before charges could be read against his client. Magistrate Phethise Motanyane agreed to refer the case to a higher court.
Lipolelo was gunned downed two days before Thabane’s inauguration in 2017.
Thabane married his current wife Maesaiah – charged with Lipolelo’s murder earlier this month – two months after the murder.
Maesaiah is set to appear in the Maseru Magistrate’s Court on March 17.
-African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Desiree Erasmus
