Gangster State

There is plenty of evidence that the Guptas also roped in Magashule’s
mates for their state-capture project. In 2011 , the SABC made the
fateful decision to appoint Hlaudi Motsoeneng as its acting chief
operating officer. Despite unresolved problems with his qualifications,
he was later appointed to the position permanently.
Motsoeneng, who is known to enjoy a close relationship with
Magashule, grew up in QwaQwa in the eastern Free State.^25 He started
his career as a journalist and presenter at Radio Sesotho, which later
became the popular radio station Lesedi FM. In the mid- 1990 s,
Motsoeneng moved from his rural hometown to Bloemfontein to work
at Lesedi FM’s new headquarters, where he soon ingratiated himself
with the province’s top politicians.
At the time, Magashule’s northern camp was still involved in a fierce
political battle to gain control of the Free State. Motsoeneng and some
of his radio colleagues apparently sided with the Magashule bloc and
provided them with a platform on Lesedi FM. ‘They gave Ace airtime
when he had that fight with Terror Lekota,’ Mahlomola Majake, a
former Free State ANC insider, told News 24 in 2016. ‘With their
constant coverage they helped push Ace into power.’^26
Upon being appointed to his powerful position in the SABC,
Motsoeneng almost immediately entered into a costly subscription
agreement for The New Age to be delivered daily to SABC personnel.
By all accounts, the staff were not interested in reading the Guptas’
newspaper, and complained about the wasteful expenditure.^27
Motsoeneng also sought to help the Guptas by broadcasting The New
Age (TNA) Business Briefings for free on SABC 2.^28 Magashule and
his provincial administration made regular use of this propaganda
platform. One of the earliest TNA Business Briefings was broadcast