Gangster State

Sometimes the propaganda carried by The Weekly was laughably
obvious. In November 2011 , the paper published a letter from Steve
Nale, who hailed from Magashule’s hometown of Parys. Nale was
angry with other media outlets’ ‘unfounded attacks’ on the premier. He
scoffed at the corruption allegations that swirled around Magashule’s
administration and described the premier as a champion of the poor.
‘We will need a space bigger than this to showcase Free State
government’s achievement under the leadership of Magashule,’ he
wrote. ‘[W]herever you go many of our people views [sic] him as a
saviour ... I never said a saint ... but a true embodiment of the
aspirations of our people.’^28
On closer inspection, Nale was not a random member of the public. In
fact, he was the spokesperson for the Ngwathe local municipality in
Parys, where Magashule’s wife was a senior manager. The Weekly did
not disclose this information, at least not in the letter’s online version.
There are even more comical examples of The Weekly’s pro-
Magashule propaganda. In March 2015 , it ran an ‘Open letter to Ace
Magashule’ from Tiisetso Makhele. ‘I greet you in the name of the
organisation you lead, the ANC, and on behalf of the people of the Free
State,’ the letter began. ‘Like the biblical Moses, you won people’s
hearts behind your vision of [Operation] Hlasela ... Premier
Magashule, I am proud to have a leader like you. As a Free State
citizen, I have confidence that under your watch and leadership, the
people of our province are safe.’ Later, Makhele remarked: ‘I know that
many will question my intention in writing this open letter. In fact, I
know that some will even accuse me of attempting to solicit benefits
from you ... If you happen to read this piece, by some accident, please
know that I ask of you no favour.’ He concluded his love letter by