The wife of the prime minister of Lesotho who is the First Lady of Lesotho, Maesiah Thabane, on Tuesday, was charged with murder in connection with the 2017 killing of Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s former wife, Lipolelo Thabane.

Thabane, on Tuesday afternoon turned herself in for questioning over the brutal killing.

Police accused Thabane of fleeing the country and hiding in South Africa following investigation

Police confirmed that the First Lady has been remanded in custody and charged with murder alongside eight others who are in Lesotho and South Africa, NAN reports.

Confirming the case, Deputy Police Commissioner, Paseka Mokete, noted that there was a ‘strong case’ against the first lady and that investigations had been ‘satisfactorily completed’.

Prime Minister Thomas Thabane and his estranged wife were involved in bitter divorce proceedings when she was gunned down outside her home in June 2017, two days before the inauguration of her husband, who later remarried two months after the murder.

Thomas Thabane (centre) at his inauguration in 2017 with Maesaiah Thabane, while King Letsie III (right) looks on

It was earlier revealed that call records showed that someone at the murder scene had called Thabane’s mobile phone on the day of the crime.

Thomas, 80, who offered to resign on the grounds of old age has also been questioned over the killing.

Last  month, Mr Thabane agreed to be questioned by the police. On the day he was questioned, hundreds of opposition supporters marched through the streets of the capital, Maseru, demanding his immediate resignation.

Mr Thabane framed the decision to step down as retirement, making no reference to the allegations against him and his wife.

The prime minister announced that he would step down but has given no date for his departure

The governing party and the opposition have accused the leader of hindering the investigation into his previous wife's murder.