By Teboho Serutla
A group of young people calling themselves ‘Concerned Youth’ have challenged the Prime Minister to take swift action against his deputy and other senior government officials for flouting Covid-19 rules.
Deputy Prime Minister Mathibeli Mokhothu, some cabinet minister and the Commander of the Lesotho Defence Force were among mourners at last week’s funeral of former military ruler Major General Metsing Lekhanya at Ha Ratjopmose Barracks in Maseru.
The event drew heavy attendance which sparked widespread criticism across the spectrum of society for not adhering to the legal limited number of 20 people at a funeral.
According to the Public Health Regulations 2021, memorial services are prohibited, the same applies to the slaughtering of animals which invites a large number of people to crowd in one area.
These regulations also limit the number of family members going to fetch their loved ones from the mortuary, to five and that is expected to happen on the burial day. Funeral services are expected to commence at 07:00am and end at 10:00am. The number of people attending a funeral should not exceed 20 – 10 family members and 10 men that help with the grave digging and burial work.
The youth are adamant that those who attended Lekhanya’s funeral violated the regulations, and what is more confusing to the ordinary people is that this was done by government leaders who are expected to lead by example.
As a result, they want Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro to take legal action against the said leaders within seven days.
