The president yesterday announced that he had placed Mkhize on special leave pending the Special Investigation Unit’s investigation into the R150-million tender scandal. Mkhize yesterday, in a press briefing before the President’s announcement, said he was not involved in the awarding of the contract. Mkhize yesterday visited Kimberley and said people in the Northern Cape are living in denial about the Covid-19 pandemic and if their behaviour does not change immediately, deaths could increase drastically, in the region. He said the province has already been in the grip of a third wave for 3 weeks and attributes it, to the behaviour of residents. Mkhize also indicated that he had asked the president himself to put him on special leave. He will also appear before the ANC’s integrity commission soon. The Minister of Tourism, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, will act in Mkhize’s place.