ANC 'kept in the dark about Paul Mashatile's shooting'

THE 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.

- SIMON MAJADIBODU

In an interview with eNCA yesterday, Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said the party was not informed by either Mashatile or the government about the matter until media reports surfaced on Sunday.

“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.