Minister to be charged for buying alcohol during lockdown

Police in Lesotho say they will charge a minister caught on CCTV allegedly buying alcoholic drinks during a nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Lesotho - like its bigger neighbour South Africa - has banned the sale of alcohol during the lockdown.

A video which appears to show Lehlohonolo Moramotse, the Police and Public Safety Minister, receiving two boxes from a liquor store went viral online last week.

His deputy in the ministry, Paseka Mokete, said investigations had been completed and the police were ready to charge Mr Moramotse, EWN news site reports.

Lesotho has not recorded a single case of Covid-19, but the landlocked country is completely surrounded by South Africa which has recorded more than 2,500 cases, the highest on the continent.

#Lesotho police confirm they will take Minister of Police Lehlohonolo Moramotse (allegedly the buyer in this video) to court on Monday to be charged with contravening Public Health #Covid_19 Regulations which prevent sale and buying alcohol during #LesothoLockDown @nthakoana pic.twitter.com/iDjxnfGHui

— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) April 15, 2020