WATCH | Mzansi pokes fun at 'Keystone Cops' drill at funeral

16 January 2020 - 06:14 By Unathi Nkanjeni
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An embarrassing incident at Richard Maponya's funeral looked like something out of a 'Keystone Cops' movie. The slapstick films featured hopelessly incompetent policemen in hilarious situations.
An embarrassing incident at Richard Maponya's funeral looked like something out of a 'Keystone Cops' movie. The slapstick films featured hopelessly incompetent policemen in hilarious situations.
Image: Elvis Ntombela

A video of high-ranking police officers failing to do a simple drill correctly has gone viral, leaving many in stitches.

The moemish took place at the burial of businessman Richard Maponya at Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

It was shown during a live broadcast of the funeral on SABC and was soon circulating online.

In the video clip, four officers - their chests bristling with medals - can be seen turning in different directions after receiving a command.

On Twitter, the video topped the trending list as some tweeps saw the humour in it. Others said it was an embarrassment.

Here are the top reactions:

Maponya died, aged 99, on January 6 after a short illness. 

Delivering the eulogy at his funeral service at the University of Johannesburg's (UJ's) Soweto campus, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Maponya “was truly a man who lived for others”.

“He was a fighter for the liberation of black South Africans from the shackles of poverty, from the manacles of marginalisation and from the chains of economic exclusion.

“During the apartheid era, he saw black business as part of the broad liberation movement to advance economic freedom.

“In a democratic SA, he saw the role of business as that of a partner to government, assisting to resolve the challenges of unemployment, poverty and underdevelopment.”


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