Poison and troops get Gauteng legislature sitting off to shaky start

25 October 2016 - 13:39 By Penwell Dlamini
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A man drank what he claimed was poison in front of speechless staff at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature on Tuesday morning.

The secretary to the legislature‚ Peter Skosana‚ is investigating how the man gained access to the building.

TMG Digital understands that he arrived about two hours before the sitting of the house and‚ surprisingly‚ was able to pass through the turnstiles‚ which are guarded by SAPS officers‚ into the reception area.

“You don't see me. I was here on September 29‚” a source who did not want to be named quoted the man as saying.

After these words‚ the man drank what looked like a poisonous substance‚ then collapsed.

Skosana confirmed that the incident.

“We don't have the details. As we were informed‚ it is something that happened there outside. But we are following up. As soon as we have all the details we will give you the details‚” Skosana said.

“We don’t know who the person is‚ why was he here‚ is he stable and his mental situation. Once we have all the full details‚ we will be able to give you information. We don’t know whether he drank poison. It is important to get information from the people who know.”

Skosana also used the opportunity to explain why there were members of the SA National Defence Force at the legislature.

“We normally get requests from the army barracks in Heidelberg. They have a programme on civic education for soldiers‚ and part of that civic education is to bring soldiers to the legislature‚” he said.

There were 109 soldiers present in the legislature‚ a sight which was uncomfortable for the Economic Freedom Fighters in the house.

– TMG Digital

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