A Qoaling woman who allegedly paid three hitmen a sum of M8 000 to assassinate her “abusive” husband is expected to answer murder charges in the Maseru Magistrate’s Court next week Wednesday.

’Mathato Kao, 45, is charged along with the three alleged hired guns including Kabelo Lenkoe, 34, of Ha Fusi, Berea, Fusi Tseko, 26, of Thaba-Tseka and Tšeliso Machesetsa, 40, of Mohale’s Hoek.

The quartet made an initial appearance in the same court on January 11 and was remanded in custody.

Lenkoe and Tseko ended up in police custody on January 8 after they were earlier arrested by a squad of soldiers from the Rapid Response unit for possession of two unlicensed firearms - 9mm pistols.

Forensic examinations that were later conducted on the two guns proved that they had been used to kill Kao’s husband on January 3 in Qoaling, Maseru.

Police investigations that ensued revealed that Kao’s 56-year-old husband was gunned down that evening as he arrived at his Qoaling residence.

It further emerged that earlier, Kao had hired Machesetsa to kill her husband for an M20 000 bounty.

Relations with her now deceased husband, she had shown, had soured and the man constantly threatened to kill me.

In order to preempt him from killing her, she decided to have him assassinated first, hence, she engaged hired gunmen to eliminate him for her.