In this Sept 27, 2019, file photo Lesotho's Prime Minister Thomas Motsoahae Thabane addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Thabane's wife and First Lady, Maesaiah Thabane is in hiding from police, Jan 14, 2020, who want to question her over the June 14, 2017, killing of Thabane's former wife Lipolelo. (RICHARD DREW / AP)

Lesotho’s prime minister said he intends to step down, following increased calls for his resignation over the murder of his second wife, which police have linked to the woman he married a little over two months later.

Thomas Thabane, 80, was inaugurated as prime minister of the tiny African mountain kingdom two days after his second wife was shot in June 2017

Thomas Thabane, 80, was inaugurated as prime minister of the tiny African mountain kingdom two days after his second wife was shot in June 2017. His decision to resign was announced by Communications Minister Thesele Maseribane on Thursday.

Earlier this month, court documents showed that the country’s police chief asked Thabane to clarify why his mobile phone number was linked to the crime scene, naming Thabane’s current wife, Maesiah Thabane, as a suspect in the killing. Thabane had issued a notice to replace the police chief but withdrew it after the Lesotho High Court intervened.

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Maesiah has been on the run since the police issued an arrest warrant last week. Neither she nor her husband have commented on the murder case.

The opposition on Wednesday said it would organize protests if Thabane doesn’t resign within seven days, while a faction within his All Basotho Convention also urged him to step down.

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Lesotho, which is surrounded by South Africa, has one of the highest murder rates on the continent.