’Marafaele Mohloboli
THE government has bowed to public pressure and backtracked on its earlier decision to force all employees and all eligible individuals to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
On 3 January 2022, Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro announced that the government had ordered all employers to ensure that all employees were vaccinated against Covid-19. Dr Majoro said all company bosses and principal secretaries had the responsibility of ensuring that all employees were vaccinated and presented proof in the form of vaccination cards.
He said unvaccinated people would not be allowed to access health and other services.
Prior to the prime minister’s announcement, the government had issued a gazette titled: Public Health (Covid-19) (Risk determination and Mitigation Measures) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 on 31 December 2021 to give legal effect to the forced vaccination campaign.
The government’s decision is now being challenged in the Constitutional Court by the Christian Advocates and Ambassadors Association of Lesotho, the Justice and Democratic Ambassadors Association, the Lesotho Public Service Staff Association as well as individuals, Sejela ‘Mekeleli, Koantlane Molefi and Teele Ntonyane.
Dr Majoro, the National Covid-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC), Health Minister Semano Sekatle and Attorney General Rapelang Motsieloa are the first to fourth respondents respectively.
The application is pending but the government has backtracked on the decision to impose compulsory vaccinations.
In a recent announcement, Dr Majoro said “the government does not force people to get vaccinated”.
“Instead, it encourages every Mosotho to get vaccinated to prevent deaths that could be brought about by Covid-19. We are all encouraged to get vaccinated but no one is forced to get jabbed,” Majoro said on 25 January 2022.
On Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Mathibeli Mokhothu also spoke on the issue while addressing religious leaders in Berea.
Mr Mokhothu, who is also Democratic Congress (DC) leader, said the government did not have the legal authority to force people to be jabbed. He said his personal view was that the government should review the decision on mandatory vaccinations.
“In my view, we have advised and guided the nation. But I don’t think we have the power to coerce you to get vaccinated.
“I believe that the government will continue to advise people to get jabbed but we will have to review this issue of forced vaccinations and drop it. Nobody should be punished for not getting jabbed. This is my personal view which I express with a clear conscience,” Mr Mokhothu said.
He subsequently told the Sunday Express that they would be guided by the court ruling on the pending application to stop the mandatory vaccinations.
“As government, we have advised and we will keep advising people to get vaccinated. But then again, it’s difficult to help people who don’t want help. The fact that some people took us to court means that there are those who don’t want to get jabbed.
“We still maintain that it is important for people to be vaccinated as this will help us prevent serious infections and even deaths. We will be guided by the court’s ruling on this matter. We will respect the decision even if it doesn’t go in our favour. The bottom line is that we should not be viewed as a government that doesn’t consider its people’s concerns,” Mr Mokhothu said.
The government has since eased lockdown restrictions, virtually allowing all social, economic and political activities to be conducted at ‘normal’ levels.
In his televised address on the Covid-19 situation on 25 January 2022, Dr Majoro said the government had resolved to relax the restrictions because infections had been brought under control due to the sterling work of the National Covid-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC).
He said the rate of new infections had dropped, Covid-19 related hospitalisations and deaths had also declined. The country is now in an adjusted Blue colour code stage where various activities are permitted.
“In the adjusted blue colour code stage, the 12 midnight to 4 am curfew has been totally suspended with restaurants, liquor stores, night clubs, gambling facilities allowed to operate while observing Covid-19 protocols at all times.
“Political gatherings in their different forms are allowed to resume without any time restrictions. Initiation schools have also been allowed to open and churches are now allowed to hold night prayers,” Dr Majoro said.
There had been fears that the highly contagious Omicron variant, first detected in South Africa and Botswana in November 2021, would lead to a surge in infections and deaths in Lesotho.
But the situation has been largely contained through the implementation of Covid-19 protocols including increased testing, restrictions on public gatherings and the stepping up of the mass vaccination campaign.
According to the latest NACOSEC statistics, Lesotho had by yesterday recorded a cumulative 32 398 infections and 696 deaths.