Mashatile Filmed Having a Ball With Friends, Viral Scenes Unimpress Locals
- A video has gone viral of Deputy President Paul Mashatile seemingly kicking his feet up during a casual outing
- The clip, posted on the @ZANewsFlash X page, shows Mashatile moving to the sound of music and enjoying a drink
- It is unclear where the recently surfaced video was taken, with the deputy president on a working visit to Japan
Source: Twitter
Tshepiso Mametela is a seasoned journalist and the Head of Current Affairs at Briefly News. He reported live from President Cyril Ramaphosa's inauguration and has written articles on politics, crime, courts, accidents, and topics including sports at The Herald and Opera News SA over several years.
TSHWANE — A video of Deputy President Paul Mashatile socialising during a break away from an apparently busy work schedule has surfaced online.
Mashatile, who is usually in a suit and tie, could be seen sporting shorts and a casual shirt and unwinding in the company of a large group of people.
Mashatile kicks feet up in familial scenes
Music and drinks seemed to feature prominently, as evinced in the X clip posted on the news page, @ZANewsFlash.
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The clip, shared on Saturday, 15 March 2025, has since gone viral.
The 50-second video briefly captured Mashatile enjoying the musical sounds at what appeared to be a resort, thought to be in Umhlanga in KwaZulu-Natal. The video's date of capture was unclear.
Watch the video below:
It comes as the Presidency confirmed that the Deputy President was on a three-day working visit to Japan from 16 to 19 March.
The undertaking aimed to reaffirm bilateral relations between South Africa and Japan. Mashatile later took to X to announce his arrival at Tokyo's Narita International Airport.
Mashatile wrote:
"The two countries enjoy well-established diplomatic relations, and 2025 marks 115 years of such. During this visit, I and a ministerial delegation will participate in various meetings with senior Japanese government officials, including Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, and various entities, partners, and business leaders."
Mashatile noted the four ministers and two deputy ministers joining the trip.
"Accompanying me on the trip are ministers, Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie; Agriculture, John Steenhuisen; Trade Industry and Competition, Parks Tau; Higher Education, Nobuhle Nkabane; and deputy ministers, International Relations and Cooperation, Tandi Moraka; and Science, Technology and Innovation, Nomalungelo Gina."
Locals zoom into 'unpresidential' Mashatile
The video, which by the time this story was published, had gathered over 370,000 views in the over 24 hours since it was posted, captured some locals' unimpressed reception to it, while others struggled to identify the wrong in it.
Briefly News looks at the wave of colourful reactions.
@LadyM1306 assessed:
"So? What’s wrong with him having him…?"
@rikhotsomoses offered:
"Paul is entertaining slay queens."
@OPapas44771 commented
"Nice life. I guess VAT won’t affect such people thina ama armskepsels sisekakeni (we, the poor nobody's are in trouble)."
Sexwale throws support behind Mashatile
In a related story, Briefly News reported that African National Congress (ANC) veteran Tokyo Sexwale expressed his belief in Mashatile to lead the country.
Sexwale, speaking during an interview with Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, said he'd welcome it if Ramaphosa's deputy succeeded him as the next president.
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Source: Briefly News
