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Namibia’s president, Hage Geingob, has fined guests who attended an illegal party he organised

Namibia’s president, Hage Geingob, hosted a celebration on April 19, 2020, on the 60th anniversary of his political party.

Namibia's President Hage Geingob

The party was organised when the country was under lockdown and gatherings were banned.

Hage Geingob has now fined all those who attended the illegal birthday bash.

Namibia’s governing party, the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), celebrated on April 19, 2020.

The president explained that less than ten people were present at the party. He said they included the vice-president, the prime minister, and the party’s secretary-general.

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All of the guests have been fined 2,000 Namibian dollars, the equivalent of about $136.94.

According to the Telegraph, the president said at a press conference that “We had a very important occasion of the 60th anniversary of SWAPO. We were found not on the right side of the regulations and law. We had to admit guilt and we were punished, we paid.”

The sparsely populated South-African country has so far recorded 23 cases of coronavirus and no deaths.

The Namibian government acted quickly after it recorded its first cases of coronavirus on March 13, 2020. Soon after, it closed its borders to international travel.

This is not the first time the president has attracted controversy. He invited several Africa presidents to his swearing-in ceremony in March, despite the travel bans enforced by most countries at the time.

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This meant that some of the presidents had to breach their travel bans. Botswana's president was forced to self-isolate for 14 days upon his return.

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