Gangster State

The wheels of the alleged scheme turned slowly, but once they were
put in motion, Emendo’s fate was all but sealed. In November 2015 ,
the FSHS sent the municipality a letter urging it to institute legal
proceedings against Emendo.^6 During a Dihlabeng council meeting on
25 November 2016 , it was resolved that the municipality would
‘approach the High Court regarding the appointment of Emendo in
order to nullify the agreement with Emendo on the land availability and
development framework’.^7
While all of this was playing out, Thoko and her partner were being
paid millions by Magashule’s government. At the same time, the work
on Vogelfontein’s sewer network and related infrastructure ground to a
halt. Emendo, meanwhile, was not willing to back down without a
fight. The company complained to the national minister of human
settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu, who contacted Magashule.
In September 2016 , Magashule, Mokhesi, Molatseli, and other
officials and stakeholders met with Emendo. The meeting’s minutes
highlight Magashule’s involvement in the Vogelfontein saga. ‘Free
State exco cabinet led by Premier Ace Magashule took the resolution to
take over the project ... from the Dihlabeng local municipality,’
Mokhesi said, according to the minutes. He also said Emendo had been
urged to ‘walk away from the project’. Furthermore, Mokhesi stated
that his department had ‘appointed another Contractor to build 1 000
RDP [houses] on the project and funding was made available to them’.
That would be Unital. Emendo’s representative wanted more
information on the department’s ‘Chinese’ contractor and the processes
through which it had been appointed. According to the minutes,
Mokhesi and Molatseli remained mum.
On ‘legal advice’ from Magashule’s office, the Dihlabeng municipality