While the country has been grappling with the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane has been fighting for her life in hospital after allegedly being poisoned.

Mtshweni-Tsipane fell ill two weeks ago, immediately after she and health MEC Sasekani Manzini held a media briefing about the outbreak of the virus in Mpumalanga on March 12.

She was then airlifted to the 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria, where she has been under treatment ever since.

Mpumalanga police have launched an investigation of members of the premier’s private secretariat, or support staff, in order to get to the bottom of the matter.

City Press has seen a message from the police’s VIP unit that was forwarded to the support staff.Please be advised that owing to pressing development, SAPS is requesting a meeting with all members of the private secretariat unit.”

No public announcement has yet been made about the premier’s ill health and nobody has been appointed to act in her position.

City Press has gathered that even Cabinet members are not aware of the cause of Mtshweni-Tsipane’s illness and have been speculating that it was the result of work-related stress.

However, a source close to Mtshweni-Tsipane told City Press on condition of anonymity that a political motive for the premier’s alleged poisoning was top of the list of possible motives – hence the investigation of her support staff, as it was suspected that one of them could have been used by her detractors.

“Look, we’re in the middle of a campaign for the provincial conference and the premier is the face of that campaign. You eliminate her, and who is left? No one,” said the source.

“This was well timed so that when conference sits, she’ll still be not well enough to be there.”

The source said that Mtshweni-Tsipane was responding well to treatment.

City Press has also learnt that a narrative was being pushed on the sidelines to debunk the poisoning allegation.Mtshweni-Tsipane will, so far, be the most high-profile victim if her poisoning is positively linked to the conference.

One of her backers, Bongani Bongo, chairperson of the home affairs portfolio committee and former minister of state security, was hospitalised for about three weeks last year August after he was poisoned.

The conference is a watershed one because it will be the first time in 11 years that the ANC will be led by someone other than Deputy President David Mabuza. It will also be the first contested conference since 2008. Two factions have featured strongly in the campaign ­– Mtshweni-Tsipane’s and the one led by acting provincial chairperson, Mandla Ndlovu.