South Africa: attempted assassination of vice-president Paul Mashatile

In South Africa, vice-president Paul Mashatile was targeted from an assassination attempt in Boksburg.

South African vice-president Paul Mashatile has narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. He made this confidence on Sunday April 20, 2025, during a press conference during an official visit to the mission of Kwasizabantu, Kwazulu-Natal.

His convoy would have been the target of shots while leaving a meeting of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC), in the province of Gauteng.

The facts go back several days. While returning to his home after the NEC meeting, the armored vehicle carrying the vice-president was violently struck. “I believed that they were stones”Paul Mashatile told journalists told. It was only once when it came to destination that his security agents suspected a much more serious attack.

According to their first analyzes, the impact on the windshield of the vehicle, however designed to withstand projectiles, seemed incompatible with simple stone jets. “They told me that the shock was too violent. A bulletproof windshield cannot be damaged so easily ”he explained.

The details of this attack still remain vague and an investigation was opened to identify the mobile of this assault. “For the moment, there is no need to worry. Let’s focus on our work ”said Paul Mashatile.