South African President Cyril Ramaphosa put the communications minister on “special leave” for two months, one of which will be unpaid, on Wednesday for breaking the rules of a countrywide lockdown and having lunch with a former official.
Ramaphosa acted after a picture of Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams at the lunch emerged on social media, angering South Africans confined to their homes during the 21-day lockdown that started on March 27 to rein in the coronavirus outbreak.