The wife of incoming Lesotho Prime Minister Tom Thabane has been murdered.
58 year old Lipolelo Thabane,was shot dead late on Wednesday,just two days before her husband’s inauguration, raising fears of another wave of political violence in the country.
Police spokesperson Clifford Molefe said Lipolelo had been travelling home with a friend when both women where shot by an unknown assailant in the town of Masana, just outside the capital, Maseru.
Lipolelo died on the scene while her friend was taken to a nearby hospital.The police say the motive of the shooting was unknown and that investigations are ongoing.
Thabane and Lipolelo had been living separately since 2012 after Thabane filed for a divorce which had yet to be granted by the courts.
Thabane’s office was unreachable for comment.