Johannesburg – Concerns about political stability are mounting after Deputy President Paul Mashatile's official vehicle was targeted in a suspected assassination attempt late last month. The incident, which occurred on the N12 highway on March 30th as Mashatile was being driven from an ANC NEC meeting in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, has prompted a high-level police investigation.
Mashatile's spokesperson, Keith Khoza, confirmed that the Deputy President's car "was hit by what appears to have been a gun [bullets]". Unconfirmed reports suggest that as many as 12 spent cartridges were recovered from the scene of the shooting.
"We can confirm that there was an incident in which the car of the deputy president was hit," Khoza stated. He also confirmed that Mashatile's convoy was en route from the NEC meeting at the Birchwood Hotel when the vehicle was struck by objects on the windscreen.
Khoza declined to provide further details, citing security protocols. "The relevant authorities are investigating the matter," he said, adding that Mashatile, as Deputy President, is under the protection of the SAPS VIP protection unit, "so the matter naturally fell into their [SAPS] hands."
"The police are best placed to respond to the question; however, I can confirm that we have a report confirming from an expert that these were bullets," Khoza explained. He confirmed that Mashatile was in the car at the time of the incident and that thankfully, nobody was injured as the vehicle is bulletproof.
Sunday World has reported that police ballistic expert Colonel Chris Mangena was brought in to investigate the incident. Mangena has allegedly submitted his report to the offices of President Cyril Ramaphosa, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola, and Head of the Presidential Protection Unit General Wally Rhode.
Despite the gravity of the situation, National Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe has refused to comment on the matter. "The SAPS does not discuss or comment on safety and security aspects concerning the president and the deputy president, including cabinet members, in the public domain," Mathe said.
At the time, Mashatile's acting spokesperson, Keith Khoza, downplayed the incident, stating that the Deputy President experienced a "slight disturbance" while delivering his keynote address. "He started losing energy and slowed down. He was about to stop talking but the guys that were next to him then took him to a place to go get checked if there was anything of concern. He was taken to a place where he can be checked. The medical team assigned to him gave him a clean medical bill of health [sic]," Khoza explained.
However, a video later surfaced of Mashatile speaking at the Tshwane University of Technology on Friday evening, where he claimed to have suffered from "food poisoning". In the clip, Mashatile tells a student that he was "sick" earlier that morning after he "had like food poisoning or something". "My office was very worried because as I came back home, on the plane I didn't eat so they were worried if I'd be able to come," Mashatile said. He told his staff he was feeling "much better" when the suggestion was made to address the students virtually. "God is good," he said.
