Equatorial Guinea on Tuesday ordered a crackdown on sex in government offices after private videos leaked on social media showed a senior finance ministry official having sex with several women in different places, including his office.
The government said it took action because the videos tarnished 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 finance official’s home during a raid linked to a corruption investigation. Local media said the women who appeared in the videos appeared to include the wives of other powerful government figures and other members of their families.
Reuters was unable to verify the authenticity of the videos.
Vice President Nguema Obiang Mango on Tuesday ordered new measures to prevent judicial and ministry officials from engaging in illegal acts at work, a government statement said. This included installing security cameras in all offices in addition to enhancing security measures.
“The executive authority is taking this decision in the wake of videos of a sexual nature that have spread on social media in recent days and which tarnish the country’s image,” the government information agency said in the statement.
The statement said the measures were agreed upon during emergency meetings with the Supreme Court, the Attorney General and others.
She said that the people who appear in the sex tapes will be suspended, without providing names, while those responsible for securing the buildings in which the videos were filmed will be reprimanded for failing to do their job.
President Teodoro Obiang has ruled Equatorial Guinea, a country of about 1.7 million people located on the west coast of central Africa, for 45 years and is the longest-serving president in the world.
