Another senior ANC leader in Mpumalanga has been forced to issue an apology after he was caught on camera not wearing a mask at the funeral of minister in the presidency Jackson Mthembu in eMalahleni on Sunday.
The ANC Mpumalanga acting chairperson, Mandla Ndlovu, broke Covid-19 regulations by not wearing a mask in public.
Ndlovu's apology for breaching mandatory protocols as gazetted in line with Disaster Management Act, came soon after premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane's lame excuse that she was "oblivious" her mask had fallen off when she walked out of her official car at the cemetery on Sunday.
Mtshweni-Tsipane is yet to be arrested despite available TV footage of her breaking the law and admitting to the crime in a statement issued after public row.
For his part, Ndlovu, who is also yet to be charged for breaching the regulations, was pictured talking to acting secretary of the ANC in Mpumalanga Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, handing her an ANC flag before greeting those who were with Ntshalintshali and left.
Ndlovu said he forgot his mask in the car when he went to hand over the ANC flag to Ntshalintshali.
“After laying our beloved Comrade Jackson Mthembu to rest, I immediately went straight to my car to leave for home. I then realised that I have an ANC flag in my car that I needed to leave behind. Regrettably, I took the flag to drop it with Comrade Lindiwe Ntshalintshali without a mask on," he said.
"This is an incident I would like to profusely apologise for. I am calling for all of us to wear our masks, sanitise and observe social distancing in order to curb the spread of this deadly virus,” Ndlovu wrote in his official Facebook page. He confirmed the statement to Sowetan.
Ndlovu is one of the contenders vying for election to become ANC Mpumalanga chairperson.
Ntshalintshali could not be reached for comment on the Ndlovu saga but she told Sowetan yesterday that the party would not comment on Mtshweni-Tsipane's faux pas as it was a "government funeral matter".
EFF Mpumalanga chairperson Collen Sedibe called for Ndlovu to be taken to task for not wearing a mask in public.
“They are the same, they don’t respect the rules of the country. They need to be arrested and be dealt with by the police because they are leaders who preach about people wearing masks but they don’t wear them,” said Sedibe.
Police minister Bheki Cele said yesterday that an investigation was underway following Mtshweni-Tsipane's saga at the same funeral.
See video below: Ndlovu appears at 9:05
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