ANC was kept in the dark about Paul Mashatile's shooting, says Fikile Mbalula
The African National Congress (ANC) has broken its silence regarding the recent reports of a shooting incident involving Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s convoy, revealing it was kept in the dark about the situation.
In an interview with eNCA on Wednesday, Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said that the party was not informed by either Mashatile or the government about the matter until media reports surfaced on Sunday, just days after the incident.
“First, as the ANC, we are yet to release a comprehensive response to this situation. We call it a situation because it’s not clearly defined. We were not aware of it until the reports surfaced in the media on Sunday,” said Mbalula.
“We were taken aback by these reports because neither the deputy president nor anyone in government informed the ANC about this situation,” he added.
Mbalula said it was concerning that the party was not briefed as “everyone else” tried to define the matter differently.
“We don’t know where this happened, how it happened, except from the reports, even from the deputy president himself…” Mbalula said.
The alleged shooting, reportedly on March 30, only became public on Sunday when Mashatile mentioned it during a visit to the KwaSizabantu Mission in Kranskop, KwaZulu-Natal.
Before addressing the Easter service, Mashatile said his vehicle was struck by what he initially thought were stones while driving home from an ANC National Executive Committee meeting in Boksburg, Gauteng.
“When we got home, the protector said the impact was too strong. They wanted to take the vehicle for checking because a bulletproof windscreen is too strong to be damaged like that, and that’s why they are doing the investigation,” Mashatile said.
Mashatile’s spokesperson, Keith Khoza, confirmed that Mashatile was unharmed and said police are investigating the matter.
Meanwhile, Mbalula said the ANC has handed the matter over to police.
“We leave it in the capable hands of the police,” Mbalula said.
“We engaged the Minister of Police (Senzo Mchunu) immediately, who informed Luthuli House (ANC headquarters in Johannesburg) that the Commissioner of Police is seized with the matter. He will report on the matter in both the short and long term.”
On Tuesday night, IOL News reported that in response to the alleged shooting, National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola moved to reassure the country about the safety of the nation’s executive leadership.
Masemola said the South African Police Service has personnel assigned to the president and deputy president who are highly trained and equipped to manage and avert any threats.
“The resources assigned to safeguard the executive are also adequate and designed to prevent any direct and imminent threat to their lives,” he said.
He confirmed that a comprehensive investigation is underway and that a preliminary ballistics report has been concluded.
However, Mbalula said the ANC has not received a report from Mashatile.
“We have not gotten a report from the deputy president on the matter,” Mbalula said.
“Many things get reported, especially in tabloid media. We must be wary of the work of agent provocateurs seeking to define situations and report them as truths.”
He said the ANC remains concerned about the reports and looks forward to an official briefing from Mashatile.
“We’re looking forward to getting a comprehensive report from the deputy president’s office, as well as being personally briefed by him,” Mbalula said.
Mbalula warned against jumping to conclusions.
“Some reports are fake news, some are untruthful, and some are intended to sow divisions within the ANC itself,” he said.
“The ANC, over time, has suffered because of unprocessed and misleading reports about its leaders.”
Meanwhile, ANC Treasurer-General Dr Gwen Ramokgopa dismissed claims of an assassination attempt as baseless but confirmed that the reported shooting is under review by the ANC secretariat.
“Usually, when there are these reports, many of them are fake,” Ramokgopa said at the ANC Northern Cape elective conference on Tuesday.
Her sentiments were echoed by ANC Northern Cape leader Dr Zamani Saul, who questioned why anyone would attempt to kill a leader of a “40% party.”
“When we had 70% support, nobody tried to kill the deputy president,” Saul said. “Why would someone, in their right mind, now try to kill a deputy president of a 40% party?
“We come to believe these things because of the levels of division within our party. So, comrades, if we want to attract supporters who want to vote for us, we must project to them a united ANC,” Saul said.
Ramokgopa added that while the ANC would assess the allegations internally, “it is ultimately the responsibility of the relevant agencies of the state to investigate such incidents.”
simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za
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