Lesotho PM's wife released on bail ahead of murder trial, says lawyer

The Lesotho prime minister's wife Maesaiah Thabane was released on bail overnight, ahead of her trial for the murder of his previous wife, her lawyer told Reuters on Thursday.

Maesaiah was detained and charged this week for the murder of Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's estranged wife Lipolelo, who was shot dead near her home in the capital, Maseru, on June 14, 2017. Thabane took office two days after the killing, then two months later he and Maesaiah, now 42, got married.

The trial is currently scheduled for February 18.

Her lawyer Rethabile Setlojoane told Reuters by telephone that Maesaiah would travel to SA for a medical examination on Thursday, though it isn't clear if she will be allowed to leave the country.

The prime minister's previous wife Lipolelo, then 58, and Thabane, now 80, were going through an acrimonious divorce at the time of her killing.