Residents let off their guard under strict lockdown

Lehlohonolo Lebiletsa

Maseru –  It was business as usual in Ha Tsautse, Maseru today as children were seen playing in groups and roaming around without masks despite the country being under a 14-day strict lockdown.

Public Eye interviewed some parents in the village to find out why they allowed their children to go and play though they know that strict lockdown measures have been imposed.

One of the parents, Khethang Molaoli, said he allowed his 13-year-old daughter to go and play with her friends because she was bored and he felt he would be denying her childhood rights if he doesn’t allow her to go and play with her friends.

“The truth is I do give her a mask and order her not to take it off but I am certain that she  removes it when she is playing. It is hard for me to stay with her in the house and watch boredom kill her while most of her friends are playing, I feel like I will be denying him his rights as a child,” he said.

Another parent who chose to remain anonymous said children are annoying therefore letting them go and play is part of getting rid of them so that she can relax in peace at home.

“As much as I am ashamed to say this, we as parents are not doing our jobs as we ought to. We are negligent because sometimes these children can really be annoying and sometimes, we cannot handle the stress, which is why we allow them to go and play with their friends,” she said.

Meanwhile, schools have been closed by the government for internal students as a means to combat the coronavirus cases which seemed to be escalating after festive season, mainly because of over a 100 thousand Basotho who came in the country from South Africa, a country which is currently the most affected country in Africa with over a million confirmed cases.