Pretoria - The SANDF has reminded South Africans that using its uniform for entertainment purposes is a criminal offence that will not be tolerated.
This comes after an up-and-coming hip hop artist, Vaal President, real name Bernette Macholo, advertised on social media his birthday party using a photoshopped poster showing himself wearing a jacket normally worn by senior defence generals.
The event was scheduled to take place at the popular BK Lifestyle Café in Pretoria last Saturday.
In response, the SANDF said that it was alarmed by the social media photo.
Spokesperson Brigadier-General Andries Mahapa said possession of military artefacts and impersonating a military officer was a criminal offence in South Africa.
He said the SANDF was in no way, shape or form associated with the event.
“The Chief of the SANDF General Rudzani Maphwanya strongly condemns this irresponsible action and behaviour of impersonating an officer of the SANDF. This matter will be pursued further and the perpetrator will have to face the full might of the law,” said Mahapa.
The artist, who could not be reached on his phone through calls and text messages, released a video on YouTube on Tuesday night apologising for the incident, stating that he did not suggest the graphic design for the poster. “The graphic designer is the one who came up with the idea and sent the poster and I liked it, and said we can use this one. I did not know about the effects (consequence) of the poster,” said Vaal President.
He said there was no use or possession of a real SANDF uniform as the graphic designer lifted the uniform from an image that was found online.
He said he was so shocked when the SANDF reacted to the image and even doubled-checked that the reaction was real. By then the poster was already circulating and trending.
Vaal President said this was a lesson for him and he would do better, as he continued his positive contribution to society, including assisting those in need of sanitary pads.
There were mixed reactions from social media users with some saying the SANDF’s reaction was warranted while others believed it was a bit too strict, considering that the image was photoshopped, with no real military uniform or artefacts used in the process.
Pretoria News