Equatorial
Guinea on Tuesday ordered a crackdown on sex in government offices after
private videos leaked on social media appeared to show a senior finance
ministry official having sex with several women in various places, including
his office.
The
government said it was taking action because the videos had denigrated the tiny
Central African country's image.
Equatorial
Guinea has been ruled by the same president for decades and the scandal has
been shaking the government since the videos first emerged last week.
Local media
reports said hundreds of amateur videos had been found at the finance
official's home during a raid associated with a corruption investigation. The
women featured in the videos appeared to include wives of other powerful
government figures and other family members, local media said.
Reuters could
not verify the authenticity of the videos.
On Tuesday,
Vice President Nguema Obiang Mangue ordered new measures to prevent judiciary
and ministry officials from engaging in illicit acts at work, a government
statement said. These included installing security cameras in all offices as
well as stepped-up security.
"The
executive is taking this decision following the videos of a sexual nature that
have gone viral on social media in recent days and that denigrate the country's
image," the state information agency said in the statement.
The statement
said the measures were agreed during emergency meetings with the Supreme Court,
attorney general and others.
It said those
appearing in the sex tapes would be suspended, without providing names, while
those responsible for securing the buildings in which the videos were allegedly
filmed would be reprimanded for failing to do their jobs.
President
Teodoro Obiang has ruled Equatorial Guinea, a nation of some 1.7 million people
on the west coast of Central Africa for 45 years and is the world's
longest-serving president.