Maesaiah Thabane: Wife of former Lesotho prime minister arrested again for murder of ex-wife’s husband

Thabane will remain in custody until June 16, after her bail was lifted on charges that her first appearance in court in February, when she was charged with murder, did not result in trial, police commissioner Holomo Molibeli told CNN.

Molibeli said the former first lady technically returned behind bars because the prosecution was not allowed to make arguments against her bail during the hearing.

A bail of 1,000 maloti ($ 58) was also paid long after he was released, not after his release in February, the commissioner said.

CNN was persistently trying to reach out to Maesaiah Thabane’s lawyer, but he still didn’t need to be heard. Neither she nor her husband, former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, have publicly discussed the allegations.

After her re-arrest, Molibeli said she would reappear in court where the proceedings would follow.

He did not say when that would happen.

“She’s in jail while we talk,” Molibeli said.

Maesaiah Thabane is accused of ordering the murder of Lipolel Thabane, who was shot dead in June 2017 near her home in the Lesotho capital, Maseru.

The former first lady fled the country in January, despite a police warrant for her arrest, but surrendered to police in February after spending weeks in South Africa.

Police questioned Thomas Thabane about the case and pushed him to charge him, but his lawyers said he could not be prosecuted, citing constitutional immunity. He is not charged in that case.

The murder case rocked the tiny South African state and led to Thabane’s sudden withdrawal in May after months of pressure from his political party to resign over his alleged involvement, police said.