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Moorosi Tsiane
A 32-year-old Bela-Bela nurse, Bokang Mahlelehle, has been remanded in custody for allegedly organizing the murder of her friend and former colleague, ’Maretšepile Mabote, in a love triangle involving the deceased’s husband, Malefane Mabote, a Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) legislator.
Mahlelehlele, who once worked with the deceased at Maluti Adventist Hospital in Berea, had all along been cheating with her friend’s husband, Mr Mabote, who is also the RFP Member of Parliament for Tsikoane constituency in Leribe.
She is alleged to have arranged for the murder of ’Maretšepile in conjunction with 27-year-old Matsoso Maekane of Makola, Berea, and a third suspect who is still at large. This after Mr Mabote had opted to abandon her and return to his wife.
The duo were arrested on Friday and appeared before the Hlotse Magistrate Court on Tuesday facing murder charges. They were remanded in custody pending their bail hearing.
According to the charge sheet, the two acted in concert to intentionally kill ’Maretšepile in Tsikoane, Leribe, last Friday.
’Maretšepile was shot and killed at her home. The third suspect, who pulled the trigger, remains at large.
The Crown alleges Mahlelehlele had been Mr Mabote’s mistress and the two had been cohabitating. However, Mr Mabote had decided to end the relationship and go back to mend his relationship with his wife. This did not sit well with Mahlelehlele, who then decided to order a hit on her former friend so he could have Mr Mabote back to herself.
Maekane and the third suspect, who fired the fatal shots, are said to have ambushed ’Maretšepile at her home late on Friday. Maekane had parked his car a short distance away while the third suspect approached the house and asked to see ’Maretšepile. The deceased’s 15 year old child was the first to encounter the shooter. She thereafter went to tell her mother that someone was looking for her.
As ’Maretšepile moved toward her kitchen to see the man who was already waiting for her in the passage, she was immediately fired upon and died on the spot in front of all her four kids. The shooter ran away to the getaway car.
Neighbors who had been jolted by the commotion, chased after the killers’ vehicle in their own car. As they got closer, the alleged shooter jumped off the getaway car and disappeared into the darkness. They then caught the driver, Maekane, and handed him over to the police where he spilt the beans, leading to Mahlelehlele’s arrest.
Her and Maekane are due back in court on 14 February 2023 while the hunt is own for the third suspect.
The murder is the latest in a litany of killings of women and children that have catapulted Lesotho into Africa’s top homicidal nation and the sixth in the world, according to the World Population Review’s homicide rankings.
