5
Free State capture and the ‘cattle thief’
The 2002 victory was crucial for Magashule’s subsequent dominance
of party politics in the Free State, as well as his iron grip on the
provincial government’s finances. ‘The Free State’s current troubles
started in 2002 ,’ observed one of his former associates. ‘This is when
Ace started to consolidate his power and when he started to
mastermind his capture of every level of government in the province.’
Magashule and his followers first focused on gaining control of the
municipalities. As ANC chairperson and chair of the party’s
deployment committee, Magashule used his power and influence to
ensure that ‘his people’ were appointed to key municipal positions all
over the province, explained my source.
The most important positions were those of mayor and municipal
manager. The Magashule-led PEC determined who the mayor of each
municipality would be. And while the appointment of municipal
managers was a prerogative of each municipality’s council, ANC
members who took instruction from the PEC dominated those councils.
The management tier that fell under the post of municipal manager was
also stacked with Magashule allies. This included directors and chief
financial officers (CFOs).
A former mayor from one of the Free State’s northern regions said he
was axed in those years because he expressed his discomfort with how
Magashule’s allies were being appointed as directors in his
municipality. He was also opposed to how his municipality was dishing