A South African cabinet minister, Collins Chabane, and two of his security staff have been killed in a car crash, country media reported on Sunday.
Their car collided with a lorry in the north-eastern city of Polokwane.
Chabane, 54, was minister for public service, a member of the governing ANC’s national executive committee and a close associate of President Jacob Zuma. He was in charge of planning Nelson Mandela’s funeral.
Zuma said he was “deeply shocked and saddened” by his friend’s untimely death which was a “huge loss to government and the country as a whole”. He extended “heartfelt condolences” to Mr Chabane’s wife Mavis and the families of Sgt Lesiba Sekele and Sgt Lawrence Lentsoane, who also died.