16 Apr 2020

Kgosi Bokamoso Radipitsi of Tonota has appealed to residents of his village to obey COVID-19 rules and regulations.

Speaking to BOPA, Kgosi Radipitsi said some residents disregarded the lockdown guidelines and were loitering in the streets. He said such people could be fined between P300 and P1 000 depending on their behaviour and insolence.

He said some community members were fined after being arrested for harvesting phane without permits, saying such people violated lockdown regulations.

Kgosi Radipitsi also noted that the area Member of Parliament, Mr Pono Moathodi had earlier informed residents, through a public address system, about the danger posed by COVID-19 and the importance of obeying regulations.

Tonota Police Station Commander, Superintendent Oteng Ngada said compliance was still a problem in his policing area, saying people still think that they could go to shops or visit their families as they wished. He added that some still brewed and sold traditional beer. He also noted that most of them preferred to pay P1 000 as admission of guilty to the offence.

In another case, Supt. Ngada said they were investigating a case in which a middle-aged man was alleged to have unlawfully published that a person had died of coronavirus on social media. Ends