Gangster State

contributions during this period were received in cash. Moreover, when
donors gave money for the cause, they generally remained anonymous
and hardly demanded accountability or transparency with regards to
how the funds were being spent. Sources who were active in the
underground movement described how they literally received suitcases
and bags stuffed with cash. There were directives as to how the money
needed to be spent, but there were no auditors, accountants or other
watchdogs to keep track of what the struggle operatives were doing
with the cash.
Azhar Cachalia, the UDF’s treasurer during the last few years of the
organisation’s existence, recalled how difficult it was to manage the
movement’s finances around the time of the states of emergency.
‘Money was literally being passed around in shoeboxes, so things were
difficult in terms of accountability,’ he said.
While we will probably never know whether Magashule stole money
meant for the liberation of his people, his reaction to one such
accusation in the 1980 s is indicative of his disdain for anyone who
questions him when it comes to matters involving money. The episode
also highlights the more thuggish tactics Magashule is willing to
employ to silence those who dare to look into his financial conduct.
In January 1987 , struggle activist Zingile Dingane was released from
Grootvlei Prison outside Bloemfontein. Dingane, a UDF member from
the southern Free State region, had been arrested on the eve of the
second state of emergency announced in June the previous year.
After spending more than 200 days in prison, Dingane re-entered
society at the height of the government’s harsh crackdown on the UDF
and the broader struggle movement. But he was eager to start
rebuilding some of the activist structures that had been dismantled