Christian Association of Lesotho (CCL) expressed concern over Prime Minister Dr. Motsoahae Thomas Thabane’s speech, which was followed by a gazette on the 5th May 2020, in which he announced that church services are allowed to continue.

Members of the council said they are surprised by the fact that in the Prime Minister’s speech, it is implied that the government had closed churches, and is now opening them under its conditions that exclude church leaders.

CCL says it is worried by realizing that in the gazette, a church is restricted by tough legal regulations and conditions that hamper its work and progress.

According to CCL, the restrictions come after churches stopped their normal services for a month, due to the spread of COVID-19.

CCL is also worried that the responsibility of handling funeral services is removed from families, local chiefs and councilors, and handed over to the church under strict regulations that include allowing a maximum of fifty people to attend such services, and the church will be blamed if such regulations are not complied with.

The council further complains that church leaders do not know starting and ending times for funeral services, which are set to last for only one hour.

In statement, CCL warns that by removing the responsibility of handling funeral services from families, local chiefs and councilors will cause conflicts, fights and hatred in the society.

Another concern is that Basotho seem to be returning back into the country from South Africa in numbers, where the spread of the virus in increasing, and they are put in crowded places where there is no plan for them to be tested.

Members of the council said these people are members of their churches, and they promised that their buildings will be available to help in the fight against COVID-19.