Maseru,
Lesotho – Lesotho’s ruling party gave its embattled prime minister an ultimatum
to resign by Thursday after his wife was charged in connection with the murder
of her rival.
Thomas Thabane’s current wife
Maesaiah Thabane, 42, appeared in court on Tuesday over the murder of the prime
minister’s previous wife, who was gunned down two days before the premier was
sworn into office in 2017.
READ | Lesotho murder intrigue ‘traumatises’ already volatile kingdom
The supreme decision-making body
of Thabane’s All Basotho Convention (ABC) party met on Monday and agreed on a
deadline for the 80-year-old Thabane to step down.
“We… have decided that the
PM should leave office by Thursday,” Montoeli Masoetsa, the party spokesperson
said.
“We cannot afford to have
him any longer in office and we think it’s only for the best,” he told
AFP.
Long unresolved murder
The party had last month urged
the premier to resign, after police investigations linked his mobile number to
communication records from the scene of the murder of his estranged wife.
Lilopelo
Thabane, who was 58, was gunned down by unknown assailants on the outskirts of
the capital Maseru in June 2017.
The prime minister promised to
leave on grounds of advanced health, but did not give a timeline for his
resignation.
READ | Lesotho first lady granted bail over murder charge
“This is no longer about
waiting for him to give us a date, but it’s the decision of the (party) that he
should go by 20 February,” said Masoetsa.
The prime minister was also
questioned by police last month over his estranged wife’s murder.
The long unresolved murder of the
prime minister’s previous wife has stunned the small southern African kingdom
surrounded by South Africa.
Opposition parties in the country
of 2.2 million people also want Thabane gone.