Magashule senior’s diary, which I obtained through a Promotion of
Access to Information Act application, revealed that he met Reddy in
Cape Town for a ‘private lunch’ at the time of the ANC’s 103 rd
birthday celebrations in January 2015. Edison said it was ‘normal’ for
Reddy to host people on the day before the party’s birthday. On this
occasion, forty people from all over South Africa and two international
guests attended Reddy’s ‘luncheon’ in Cape Town, the company told
me. ‘There was at no time any business discussions whatsoever with
anyone. It was a celebration.’ Edison maintained that Magashule’s
diary incorrectly described the gathering. ‘This was not a “private
lunch” but a private function,’ the company said.
During this time, Reddy’s son Shantan got involved in some business
activities with Magashule’s daughter Thoko Malembe. In February
2015 , a month after Reddy’s ‘function’, Shantan registered a company
called SVR Group. Thoko became a director in SVR two months later.
‘This company was established with eight directors for a venture that
did not get off the ground,’ said Yuri Mohan, one of Shantan’s business
partners. ‘All of the directors except Shantan Reddy resigned. We are
unaware that Thoko Malembe is Ace Magashule’s daughter.’
Whatever they may say, by around 2015 there was an undeniable
level of familiarity between the Reddys and the Magashules. It serves
as the backdrop to a troubling series of government contracts worth a
neat R 230 million awarded to one of Shantan Reddy’s companies.
In February 2015 , coincidentally the same month in which Shantan
founded the SVR Group, the Free State Provincial Treasury awarded a
R 60 -million contract to Central Lake Trading 149 , of which Shantan
Reddy is the sole director. This company trades under the name Empire
Technology. It was tasked to provide the province with software that
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