Lesotho said on Thursday that several of its diplomats had been expelled from South Africa over the illicit peddling of duty-free alcohol.
The foreign affairs ministry in Maseru said South Africa had given the diplomats and their families 72 hours to leave the country.
https://95bcea9aee56024ef96abcbc09b60797.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html South Africa had taken the decision because the diplomats violated laws “specifically, the illicit trade in duty-free alcohol”, it said in a statement.
South African media have reported that cash-strapped Lesotho diplomats have been bringing alcohol into the country, without paying duty, and then re-selling it in bars and restaurants.
https://95bcea9aee56024ef96abcbc09b60797.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html The ministry expressed “disappointment and embarrassment that several Basotho diplomats…have been declared persona non grata” by South Africa.
It vowed disciplinary action when the officers return home.
