Zimpapers Logo

Maseru — The estranged wife of Lesotho’s  incoming prime minister was gunned down just two days before his inauguration, his party and police said yesterday, creating confusion ahead of the handover of power.

Thomas Thabane’s wife Lipolelo (58) was shot dead in the Ha Masana village, 35km south of the capital Maseru where she lives, as she was driving with a friend on Wednesday.

Samonyane Ntsekele, the secretary general of Thabane’s All Basotho Convention party, said the prime minister-elect was devastated by the shooting.

“Yes, it is true that Mrs Lipolelo was shot dead last night . . . Everyone is traumatised by these developments,” he said.

Thabane is due to replace Pakalitha Mosisili, prime minister since 2015, after forming a coalition with three other parties following elections earlier this month that handed his party most seats in parliament.

He and Lipolelo are understood to have been embroiled in a bitter divorce dispute. Lipolelo reportedly won a court case against Thabane during his first stint as prime minister affirming her position as Lesotho’s first lady instead of Thabane’s youngest wife, Liabiloe Thabane.

A police source said that Lipolelo had been driving with a friend when they spotted a man walking down the road.

“The suspect pulled out the gun and opened fire on them. Lipolelo died on the spot while the other woman is fighting for her life in hospital,” he said.

Police spokesperson Clifford Molefe confirmed there had been a shooting.

“A 58-year-old woman was shot dead last night at Ha Masana but it is too early to disclose the name of the deceased or whom she is related to,” he said.

Detectives are investigating the incident, he added.

Ntsekele said it was too early to know if the shooting would affect Thabane’s inauguration.

But Ronnie Mamoepa, spokesperson for South African deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa who has played a key mediation role in Lesotho, told broadcaster SABC he hoped the ceremony would go ahead as planned.

Thabane is due to be sworn in at the Setsoto Stadium in Maseru, marking the impoverished country’s third attempt at a coalition government. Both of the previous joint administrations have collapsed.

Lesotho has a long history of political instability having suffered coups in 1986 and 1991.

The small kingdom was plunged into crisis in 2014 when soldiers attempted to oust Thabane during his last stint as prime minister.

Thabane fled to South Africa, where he spent two years, while the regional bloc Sadc stepped in to end the crisis. Early elections took place in 2015.

Meanwhile, social media users have expressed  fears of continued political instability in Lesotho following the alleged killing of Lesotho incoming Thabane’s wife.

A spokesperson for, Ronnie Mamoepa, told the SABC that there was an attempt on the lives of the Thabane family on Monday. He said that Ramaphosa would proceed to the mountain kingdom for the inauguration set for today.

“The deputy president is aware of the developments,” said Mamoepa, adding that “security forces” would ensure that the inauguration “runs smoothly”.

International Relations and Co-operation Minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, warned on Sunday that Sadc will not allow any military coup “in any [its] corner”.

“This was made very, very clear to everyone in Lesotho two weeks ago.

“They have just had an election a year and a half ago and they have also undertaken to go back to the reforms [on the role of the police and the military, which have been supporting leaders from opposing parties] which they themselves say has bedevilled focus on governance,” she was quoted as saying. — Sapa