A charge of public indecency was laid against the deputy minister of minerals and energy after an incident at Johannesburg International Airport early this month, police confirmed on Sunday.
Superintendent Eugene Opperman was asked to confirm a story in the Sunday newspaper Rapport that an airport security official, Benny Edwards, laid charges of public indecency and crimen injuria against deputy minister Susan Shabangu after an incident on March 6.
Shabangu was apparently on her way to board a flight when she passed through a checkpoint and set off a metal detector. Edwards, who was on duty, requested her to remove metallic objects from her person and pass through the detector again.
Shabangu went through the detector repeatedly, setting off the alarm time after time. An altercation ensued, and Shabangu lifted her dress in ”exasperation” to show him that she was not hiding anything underneath the garment, the newspaper reported.
She was eventually allowed to proceed to her flight, but Edwards laid charges at the airport police station, said Opperman. Police were investigating the charges and Opperman could not say when the matter might come before the court.
According to Rapport, a spokeswoman for the minerals and energy department, Sibongiseni Dlamini, would not comment on the incident, noting that Shabangu was overseas. The department might issue a statement after Shabangu’s return, she said. – Sapa