Following his collapse during his speech at the celebration of N'wamiwa Day in Tzaneen, Limpopo, on Saturday, the office of the Deputy President Paul Mashatile said he is in good health. Mashatile had to be carried to his cars by his security detail after he collapsed on stage. 

RESTING AT HOME

On Saturday, his office said that the collapse was caused by dehydration due to the heatwave in Tzaneen. In a statement yesterday, his acting spokesperson, Keith Khoza, said Mashatile was high spirits and resting at home following his travel back to his home on Saturday. "We want to use this opportunity to thank the team that supports the deputy president, from the Presidential Protection Service and the Presidential Medical Unit, for their speedy response in attending to the deputy president and ensuring that he is in good health. The Deputy President also thanks all South Africans for their support and prayers," Khoza said.

IT WAS DUE TO DEHYDRATED

Speaking to SA FM this morning, Khoza said if indeed food poisoning was confirmed, as Mashatile had suspected, he lost a lot of liquid, and that might have led to dehydration, which caused him to collapse. "The deputy president had said a day earlier that he felt he had food poisoning. If it was confirmed that it was indeed food poisoning, it tempers with your bowel, and you lose a lot of liquid in your body. It could have contributed to his dehydration, which was made worse by him doing rounds in the scotching heat in Tzaneen, "Khoza said. He said that Mashatile said prior to collapsing, he felt lightheaded, and the doctors said as you feel lightheaded, you lose balance and fall backwards. "The deputy president also fell backwards as he was losing balance," Khoza said. Mashatile mentioned on Friday during a lecture at the Tshwane University of Technology that he felt like he had food poisoning and that he felt sick on Thursday.