The mystery of Mabuza’s ‘poison’ baffles local experts

A poison expert said yesterday although it could be possible a particular kind of poison could necessitate treatment lasting as long as three years, a South African doctor should be able to handle a case like that.

This comes after it was reported that Deputy President David Mabuza had to be flown to Russia again for treatment allegedly related to his poisoning incident three years ago.

His first trip to the elite Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow, also called the “Kremlin Hospital”, was in 2015 when he was flown there in a Gupta-owned jet.

He claimed in the National Council of Provinces this year he couldn’t remember any details about whose jet it had been.

Griffon Poison Information Centre Director Dr Gerhard Verdoorn said: “It is possible that he could be dealing with metallic poisoning, which includes heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium and more.

“These stay in the system for very long and therefore need special treatment to remove them from the body.

“However, we have very good doctors here in South Africa who are specialists in that field. There is no need to go to Russia.”

The fact that Mabuza had to be flown to Russia again for treatment when he was reportedly not ill has raised questions. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office confirmed Mabuza had asked the president for time “to rest”.

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