Equatorial Guinea orders crackdown on sex in government offices after videos leak

(Reuters) – Equatorial Guinea ordered a crackdown on sex in government offices on Tuesday after private videos leaked on social media appeared to show a senior finance ministry official having sex with multiple women in various locations, including his office. showed.

The government said it was taking action because the videos denigrated the image of the small central African country.

Equatorial Guinea has been ruled by the same president for decades and the scandal has rocked the government since the videos first emerged last week.

Local media reports said hundreds of amateur videos were found at the tax official’s home during a raid linked to a corruption investigation. Local media reported that the women shown in the videos appeared to be wives of other powerful government officials and other family members.

Reuters was unable to verify the authenticity of the videos.

On Tuesday, Vice President Nguema Obiang Mangue ordered new measures to prevent justice and ministry officials from committing illegal acts in the workplace, a government statement said. This included the installation of surveillance cameras in all offices and increased security measures.

“The executive branch takes this decision in light of the videos of a sexual nature that have gone viral on social media in recent days and denigrate the image of the country,” said the statement from the state information agency.

The statement said the measures were agreed at emergency meetings with the Supreme Court, the attorney general and others.

It said those appearing in the sex videos would be suspended, without naming them, while those responsible for securing the buildings where the videos were allegedly filmed would be reprimanded for failing to do their jobs .

President Teodoro Obiang has ruled Equatorial Guinea, a nation of about 1.7 million people on the west coast of Central Africa, for 45 years and is the world’s longest-serving president.

(Reporting by Bernardino Ndze Biyoa and Jessica Donati; Editing by Mark Heinrich)