The High Court in Lesotho has charged former prime minister, Thomas Thabane, for the 2017 murder of his first wife, Lipolelo.

According to the charges read on Tuesday, Thabane, 82, is accused of hiring hitmen to kill Lipolelo in June 2017, two days before he took office as head of government.

The accused include Thabane’s current wife Maesaiah, who married Thabane two months after the murder and who was granted controversial bail in June.

The other four accused are alleged hitmen who were hired by Thomas Thabane and his soon-to-be second wife.

Lipolelo and Thomas Thabane were involved in bitter divorce proceedings.

The case plunged the country into a political crisis that eventually led to Thomas Thabane’s resignation in May 2020 abandoned by the coalition that had supported his government for three years.

Police accused Thomas Thabane, prime minister from 2017 to 2020, of paying assassins a 400,000 maloti (€21,000) deposit to kill his wife.

Both Thabane and his current wife have denied any involvement in the murder.