SANDF officials caught on camera smoking during Andrew Mlangeni’s funeral | News24

Three South African National Defence Force members have been caught on camera smoking during the funeral service of anti-apartheid activist Andrew Mlangeni. (Photo: @MmusiMaimane, Twitter)

• Three SANDF officials were caught on camera by Newzroom Afrika smoking during the funeral of anti-apartheid veteran Andrew Mlangeni.
• The three were seen with their face masks down, lighting their cigarettes while standing close together and smoking.
• The sale of tobacco has been banned under lockdown regulations for the past four months.

Three South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members have been caught on camera smoking during the funeral service of anti-apartheid activist Andrew Mlangeni on Wednesday.

The three officials were caught by a Newzroom Afrika cameraman during the funeral service with their face masks lowered, lighting cigarettes while standing in close proximity.

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The sale of tobacco has been banned under lockdown regulations which means the officials could have broken government’s cigarette ban.

It is unclear whether the SANDF members have receipts for their cigarettes, as stipulated by Minister of Police Bheki Cele, or whether they had stocked up on four months’ worth of smokes before the lockdown.

At a media briefing in May, Cele warned smokers that those found smoking outside their homes would be asked to show receipts of when the cigarettes were bought.

News24 contacted the SANDF for comment after the incident, however, its spokesperson had not responded to questions at the time of publication.

Comment will be added once received.