South African Minister for Communication placed on compulsory two months leave for attending lunch at a friend’s house despite lockdown

President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has placed the country’s Minister for Communications and Digital Technologies, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, on special leave for two months, one month of which will be unpaid, after a picture of her having lunch with her politician friend, MP Mduduzi Manana, during lockdown surfaced on social media.

In a statement released this morning, the president expressed his disapproval of the minister’s actions, saying it undermined the requirement that all citizens stay at home during the lockdown. 

Ndabeni-Abraham over the weekend, paid a friend a visit and had lunch with his family. This however contravened the lockdown order of the government for all citizens to stay in their homes as the nation fights to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus.

South Africa has 1749 confirmed cases of Coronavirus, 45 recoveries and 13 deaths.

See the statement placing her on special leave and reactions from South Africans below..