A jovial and joking Mosebenzi Zwane on Tuesday evening became an ill Minister of Mineral Resources on Wednesday morning.

Zwane was at a “surprise” African National Congress (ANC) Free State provincial general council on Tuesday evening, where News24 saw him joking with ANC comrades.

The provincial general council meeting saw the ANC in the province officially nominate former African Union Commission chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as its preferred candidate to become the ANC president.

However, Zwane had been set to meet the portfolio committee on mineral resources on Tuesday to respond to State capture allegations.

He again did not appear on Wednesday and the committee said they had received a sick note informing them that the minister could not appear.

The committee, which wanted to engage with the minister before working out how to proceed with State capture allegations, will not be able to meet Zwane until next year as a result of his no-show.

Committee chairperson Sahlulele Luzipo said they will write to Zwane to invite him to meet with the committee on January 24, 2018. If he does not arrive then or a week thereafter should he have a conflicting engagement, the committee will meet to decide whether they should subpoena him.