Gangster State

Of particular concern is the fact that the two former Free State
commissioners are implicated in an alleged plot to buy votes at the
2017 Nasrec conference using ‘laundered’ funds from a dubious Crime
Intelligence (CI) operation. The Independent Police Investigative
Directorate (IPID), which is investigating the matter, has alleged in
court papers that Sithole, Tsumane and other SAPS and CI officers
pushed for the procurement of surveillance equipment shortly before
the ANC’s elective conference. The equipment was reportedly valued at
about R 7 million, but the SAPS and CI head honchos were allegedly
willing to pay R 45 million for the device. The difference of about R 38
million would then have been used to buy votes for an unnamed
‘faction’ at Nasrec, IPID has claimed.^4 The court filings do not specify
which faction was to benefit from the alleged scheme, but they offer
pretty strong hints. King Bhoyi Ngcobo, one of the CI officers
implicated in the saga, is one of Jacob Zuma’s former bodyguards.^5
If Magashule does have a few top cops on his side, South Africa
remains in peril, especially in light of his apparent contempt for the
outcome of the Nasrec conference. At an ANC Youth League gathering
in January 2018 , Magashule urged party members to ‘work hard’ so
that ‘the ANC that we know returns’.^6 The alleged Durban plot of
September 2018 by Zuma, Magashule and others to challenge
Ramaphosa’s leadership spells more trouble.^7 Any suggestion that
Magashule’s faction has allies within police or intelligence structures
needs to be probed and dealt with immediately, lest these vital agencies
get sucked into a dangerous political battle.
For Magashule, there is more at stake than political power. The ANC
secretary-general is alleged to have presided over a decades-long state-
capture scheme in his home province. This may yet land him in some