Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has returned from Antarctica to discover her beloved Zespri kiwifruit stuffed toy without an eye.
Ardern shared a picture of her broken and sad-looking stuffed kiwifruit with one of its plastic eyes broken.
"Discovered this on my return. A full investigation will follow…"
Ardern met the life-size Zespri kiwifruit mascot brothers most recently during her visit to Japan this year and in 2019. It appears she brought the soft toy home as a souvenir from one of those trips.
A selfie Ardern shared after this year's Japan trip showed the kiwifruit mascot staring at her from a shelf in her Prime Ministerial office
"Ever get the feeling you're being watched?" she captioned the Instagram story.
One of Ardern's Instagram followers jokingly called for a royal commission of enquiry into "this outrageous and appalling event" and even blamed Ardern's daughter Neve.
"Perpetrator will be sent to bed early for a week."
Another urged Ardern to check first with Thingee, Aotearoa's unofficial ambassador for children's television during the 1990s.
