If you’re missing Game of Thrones, look no further than South African politics for all the intrigue and drama of an HBO series.

Acting Mayor of eThekwini (the Durban metropole), Fawzia Peer, was allegedly poisoned during a full council meeting yesterday.

ANC chief whip Nelisiwe Nyanisa, who was sitting next to Peer, said that Peer noticed the smell of paraffin after taking a sip of her water.

Nyanisa sniffed the water and confirmed that it smelled of paraffin, before passing it down the line to other members who came to the same conclusion.

IOL with what happened next:

When Peer complained about feeling dizzy, Nyanisa helped Peer out of the chamber and took her to bodyguards who had been waiting for her. She said Peer’s condition progressively deteriorated and she began vomiting as she headed to Nyanisa’s office.

It is believed Peer was complaining about a burning sensation in her mouth and throat before she was rushed to City Hospital in the Durban CBD, where she was admitted to the ICU.

Peer might want to consider adding taste-testers to that security detail.

Sources told the Daily News that doctors worked on flushing the poisonous substance out of Peer’s body. She was kept overnight for observation, where she was admitted to the ICU. and the water bottle was sent to the lab for testing.

In an update from earlier today, IOL reports that Peer was in good health the day after the alleged poisoning when she attended the African Forum on Urban Safety meeting at the Durban City Hall.

The lab results are still pending.

Never a dull moment in South African politics.

[source:iol&iol]