A SA Air Force colonel was caught on camera in a Pretoria mall shopping in uniform, wearing bright pink slippers, Beeld newspaper reported on Friday.
Lieutenant-Colonel Ruth Ndayi now faces aggravated disciplinary charges, as she failed to present herself for a hearing with Air Force chief Lieutenant-General Carlo Gagiano and other senior officers on Thursday.
She arrived for her hearing an hour early, was told to come back at the scheduled time, and then failed to return.
According to the Air Force, further disciplinary measures would now be instituted against Ndayi. A fellow officer originally took a cellphone picture of Ndayi in the shop last Wednesday, and sent it to the Air Force for comment.
The photograph was posted on Facebook, where colleagues and former military personnel slated it as a scandalous embarrassment.
Pikkie Greeff, of the SA National Air Force Union, said it was unacceptable for a soldier to bring the entire Air Force into disrepute through such undisciplined behaviour. – Sapa