Gangster State

MECs had admitted that their performances were not up to scratch, but
Magashule and Malakoane both denied this.^7
The reshuffle caused a stir, especially given the fact that Magashule
was ANC chair. His axing risked amplifying political tensions in the
province. The story soon died down, however, and the public never
learnt exactly why Magashule was fired.
In an interview with Marshoff in 2018 , she revealed to me the real
reasons behind her decision. One Friday after work, she was at home
in Bloemfontein when her phone rang. It was one of her staffers,
calling to inform her about a pending political fiasco involving
Magashule, his ANC region in the north and the Glen College of
Agriculture, a state-funded agricultural college situated about twenty-
five kilometres outside Bloemfontein. The college fell under the
leadership of Magashule’s Department of Agriculture.
‘This person told me that Ace had instructed staff members at the
college to slaughter the college’s calves and to put the meat into
separate parcels,’ recalled Marshoff. At the time, the ANC’s Fezile
Dabi region was about to hold a regional conference in Sasolburg. ‘The
meat parcels were meant to be distributed among ANC members who
were going to attend the conference so that they would vote for
Magashule’s slate,’ she explained.
The heist was still under way by the time the premier got word of it,
so she phoned the police to try to stop it. ‘The police managed to
intercept three Department of Agriculture bakkies that were full of
meat parcels and that were on their way to Sasolburg.’
Marshoff later learnt that there were more vehicles carrying meat than
just the three apprehended, and that some of the conference attendees
did get their meat parcels courtesy of Magashule. ‘The department staff