. . . and a wake-up call for those who slumber
INTERNATIONAL Relations Minister Maite NkoanaMashabane’s parliamentary nap may be the subject of a viral video, but she is not the first politician to nod off in the benches, or even the latest.
During a motion last week to remove President Jacob Zuma from office, EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi informed the house that the minister had fallen asleep.
“The minister is sleeping and, with her position, she is going to fall!” he said. NkoanaMashabane opened her eyes — but only after a prod by Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom.
The resulting video was watched nearly 150 000 times in the first week.
A hoax “statement” claiming she had been praying for South Africa made the rounds this week.
Just a few hours later in the house, ANC MP Rosina Semenya, chairwoman of the agriculture and fisheries committee, can be seen on a video nodding off behind Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba as he speaks. It is clear she is struggling to keep her eyes open and at various points over about a minute her head lolls from side to side. Sitting next to her, former ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga also appears to have his eyes closed at one point, although it is unclear whether he is asleep.
On Tuesday, an ANC member of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, Nhlakanipho Ntombela, was snapped asleep at his post, with the photo doing the rounds on social media.
Perhaps it was the quality of the speeches, but Zuma also appeared to have a hard time avoiding the Land of Nod during the debates around his state of the nation address in February and often found it necessary to rest his eyes.
Earlier this year, Ndlozi, who is turning into something of a sleep cop, called out Police Minister Nathi Nhleko for taking 40 winks, saying: “Surely we can’t come to work to sleep on the people’s time?”
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, who was speaking at the time, appeared to acknowledge his soporific influence when he responded: “I have less than a minute to go, so everyone can wake up.”
But EFF MPs themselves have been called out for sleeping. National Council of Provinces member Emanuel Mtileni was snapped apparently fast asleep at his bench last year.
Party leader Julius Malema did not take kindly to the picture — which featured Mtileni so deep in slumber that his mouth hung open — telling a crowd in Rustenburg: “I saw a picture of some clown in parliament claiming to represent the EFF.”
Mtileni later claimed the photo had not been taken in parliament, but during a lunch break in Burgersfort.
In October last year, political commentator Eusebius McKaiser snapped a picture of the current ANC chief whip, Jackson Mthembu, apparently napping during a parliamentary debate on higher education. Mthembu, however, claimed he was not asleep, merely concentrating intently on the “important” issues with his eyes closed.
In 2009, Cape Town city councillor Steven Vuba of the DA made front-page news when he fell asleep at a council meeting. But he said he had flu and his medication made him drowsy.
In 2003, parliament’s rules committee discussed whether it was proper for the camera operators in the house to show MPs sleeping or yawning.
While some argued that MPs should stay awake, the then IFP MP Jeanette Vilakazi argued that falling asleep was “unintentional”.
Winston Churchill might have disagreed. Upon being asked “Must you fall asleep while I am speaking?” he responded: “No, it’s purely voluntary.”
Other famous politicians to have fallen asleep include US Vice-President Joe Biden, during a speech by President Barack Obama, and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, 92, who is photographed asleep with increasing frequency.
Dr Alison Bentley, a sleep disorder specialist, said that in the case of unintended day-time naps the cause might be sleep apnoea, which often affected men over 40 — especially if they had gained weight. It also sometimes affected menopausal women, but she said the main culprit was usually a poor night’s sleep.
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