Gangster State

during the states of emergency, especially in the sphere of education.
Dingane had been a member of the Free State branch of the UDF-
aligned National Union of South African Students (NUSAS), which
provided bursaries to poor students, among other activities. When
Dingane approached the UDF’s interim leadership for funding, he was
told that Magashule had already taken money on behalf of the Free
State. Like Molobi, Dingane started to ask questions on UDF platforms
about what Magashule and his Hillbrow crew were doing with the cash
that they had been collecting for the struggle.
One day, not long thereafter, a convoy of five cars filled with people
stopped outside Dingane’s house in the Bloemfontein township of
Rocklands. It was Magashule and his group from Hillbrow. They had
come to confront Dingane about the questions he was asking.
According to sources from both sides of the Free State divide,
Magashule, who apparently led the Hillbrow group, was particularly
aggressive towards Dingane. ‘Things got very heated,’ recounted one
source. ‘Ace was putting his finger right in Dingane’s face. I think
there would have been violence that day if it weren’t for the fact that
Dingane also had quite a lot of people with him.’
Those familiar with the saga recalled that Magashule’s message to
Dingane was clear: if you question how we use our struggle resources,
we will come and deal with you. Dingane, who later became secretary
to Parliament before a stint as an MEC in Magashule’s provincial
government, did not deny the incident, but said that he did not want to
discuss the matter.