Gangster State

links to Magashule’s son, Tshepiso. Mpembe and Tshepiso were co-
directors of BMMW Liquor Trading and Projects, as well as of a shelf
company called Friedshelf 1076 , company records revealed.
Apart from the website debacle, Ntsele is also known for being the
owner of The Weekly, a provincial newspaper that forms part of his
Letlaka group. After the centralised media unit was established in
Magashule’s office, The Weekly became one of the foremost
benefactors of government advertising revenue, along with the Gupta-
owned The New Age. In its 2013 report, Treasury noted that ‘The
Weekly seems to be funded almost solely by the Free State government,
in particular the Department of the Premier, as very little commercial
advertising could be identified’.^16 In exchange for such favourable
treatment, The Weekly seemingly transformed itself into Magashule’s
personal mouthpiece.
The newspaper was distributed for free and could be picked up at the
offices of all major government departments, municipalities and other
state organs in the province, among other distribution points. The fact
that the publication was readily available to most government officials
and employees made it a powerful tool of influence within the
province’s hallways of power. An assessment of The Weekly’s reportage
over a period of about six years allowed me to conclude that Ntsele’s
publication indeed amounted to little more than a propaganda machine
for Magashule and his political allies. When The Weekly was not
singing the premier’s praises, it was attacking his political foes.
Magashule’s would-be challengers from 2012 ’s Regime Change group,
other adversaries and even rival media publications all landed in The
Weekly’s crosshairs. In the process, the publication consistently ran
afoul of journalistic ethics and best practice.