The man who is accused of murdering his wife in the Free State and transported her body to his home country of Lesotho appeared in court on Tuesday. Magistrate Mamello Thamae went missing last week Thursday and her body was found in the boot of her husband's car at a lodge in Lesotho on Saturday. Lehlohonolo Makotoane (41) from Ha-Mabote Berea in Lesotho, who now lives in Heilbron in the Free State, was arrested and appeared in the Mokhothlong Magistrate Court in Lesotho on Tuesday.
Makotoane is accused of murdering his wife Thamae last week in their home in Hebron before transporting the body to Lesotho. The Chief of Detectives Inspector Limpho Pitso told the court that they received a report from the Police Headquarters in Maseru in the International Police Coordinating Unit (Interpol) from SAPS about the magistrate and her husband who disappeared. "The report indicated the car entered Lesotho with the help of a tracker, we followed the lead until we found the car, a Kia model at a guest house in Mokhoatleng area," detective Pitso said. He added that when they searched the car, they found two bags containing the clothes of a woman and a man. "We were shocked to discover the body of a woman in the car boot wearing pyjamas and tied with a rope and a sledgehammer shoved in her mouth," he said, adding that he confessed to the crime and that the body in the boot belonged to his wife. The suspect explained that he and his wife have not had good relations in the marriage and that his wife had already filed for divorce and that is why he killed her," he said.
Makotoane was remanded in custody and his case was postponed to the 9th of October this year for further police investigations. Free State Police Spokesperson Captain Lorraine Earle said SAPS is in contact with the Lesotho Mounted Police Service with regards to the repatriation of the body of the victim to South Africa in order for the post-mortem to be conducted. "The extradition process for the suspect will take its course. The investigation team is working around the clock to ensure justice is to be served," said Earle.
