Gangster State

the FDC applied for an eviction order at the High Court in
Bloemfontein. One afternoon in December, while the eviction matter
was still being heard, a convoy of SUVs and luxury sedans arrived at
the petrol station. Footage from the business’s security cameras
captured the day’s events.
Thoko Malembe alighted first from one of the SUVs. She walked over
to one of two BMWs that formed part of the convoy and got in. She
emerged after about a minute, followed by Magashule and a guard or
aide who held an umbrella over his head. They were joined by about
five other men. Sources identified Vish Maharaj, an FDC board
member, and Mohlouoa ‘Blacky’ Seoe, a former FDC chairperson and
one of Magashule’s old business associates, among them. The group
walked around the petrol station as if inspecting it, before reconvening
near the fuel pumps, where they stood for about five minutes,
apparently locked in earnest discussion. The group then broke up and
left the site in their respective vehicles. Some of the petrol station’s
former employees recalled the visit and agreed that it appeared as if the
visitors were doing an inspection. It was after this that rumours began
to circulate among the staff that Magashule wanted to buy the business
for his daughter.
In June 2015 , the Bloemfontein High Court ruled that the FDC could
ask its tenant to vacate the site if it wanted to, seeing as the original
lease agreement had lapsed. The petrol station’s owners tried to fight
the ruling, but they eventually relented in May 2016. The business was
shut later that year and all the employees immediately lost their jobs.
Shell’s corporate head office, meanwhile, learnt that the FDC planned
to sell the property. Seeing as it had supplied fuel to the business’s
previous owner, the company naturally had an interest in the matter.