Lesotho Prime Minister fails to show up in court to face murder charge

Lipolelo Thabane was killed outside her home in the capital Maseru just days before the Prime Minister's inauguration in June 2017.

Lesotho's Deputy Commissioner of Police has indicated to CNN that 80-year-old Thomas Thabane may be unwell, which is why he failed to turn up.

A gripping tale

The current first lady, Maesaiah Thabane, has already been charged with murder in a previous court appearance.

After weeks in hiding in South Africa, allegedly helped by a recently appointed spokesman who snuck her away in a government-issue car, Thabane, 42, was also charged with the attempted murder of another woman.

Maesaiah Thabane was taken into custody but was swiftly granted bail of 1,000 Loti or about $67, without the prosecutors having their say -- a highly unusual move.

She has yet to submit a plea to the charges against her. The first lady's legal team have so far not responded to phone calls and text messages from CNN over several days.

Police say that eight other suspects will be charged over their links to the case, although their names have yet to be made public -- including the spokesman, who prosecutors say aided and abetted the first lady as she fled to South Africa.

The details of the case have gripped the country, forced the Prime Minister Thomas Thabane to promise his resignation and opened the lid on the murky power politics that have long dominated Lesotho's culture.

When -- and if -- the case comes to trial, observers say that prosecuting sordid allegations against one of the most powerful figures in Lesotho will be a stiff test of judicial independence.