For a while on Tuesday evening it felt as if SA had travelled back to a time when political intrigue was the order of the day. A late-night news story broke that a warrant of arrest had been issued for ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule. He himself was reported to have confirmed this.
But a few hours later it was clear there was nothing more to it than speculation and innuendo. Magashule’s own contradictory comments on the matter proved this. In the original story, by Independent Media, it was reported that Magashule “confirmed knowledge of his intended arrest”. He was then quoted as saying he was “aware”, followed by “it’s going to be a Hollywood style type of thing. But we will see.”
A few hours later, presumably after hundreds of phone calls from journalists, the Hawks categorically denied knowledge of any such warrant. After this, Magashule reportedly accused the Hawks of trying to “spin it”. But then his comments started changing. He told TimesLIVE he had instructed his lawyers to contact the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to verify what he now termed “rumours” of his pending arrest. He said neither he nor his lawyers had been formally informed of plans to arrest him, but he had heard a rumour there was such an intention.
The rumours, reports, backtracking and denials came after the Hawks swooped on a number of people last week in connection with allegations of state capture and testimony to that effect heard at the Zondo commission of inquiry, prompting speculation that all the toing and froing was an attempt to cast doubt on the work of the Hawks and the NPA. The Hawks themselves said they viewed it as “malicious intent to undermine the integrity of the organisation”.
It is a strategy — once perfected by former president Jacob Zuma and his political allies — that has become a little tired. The country now has the benefit of hindsight and is a little wiser than it was back when Zuma was facing criminal charges. And Magashule is not Zuma, who commanded considerable support in the ANC and the alliance when he was facing allegations of corruption. This is not the case for Magashule. Back in the mid-2000s, Zuma had the support of the majority of the governing party and its leaders, alliance partners Cosatu and the SA Communist Party, and the then powerful ANC Youth League (ANCYL) led by Julius Malema.
Zuma had a strong ANC behind him, but who does Magashule have? There has been no message of support from the party’s national leaders. Magashule seems to have the support of half the Free State, the province he once led, the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association, with the disgraced Carl Niehaus as its spokesperson, the ANCYL in the Free State and the North West, half the Youth League in KwaZulu-Natal and half of the ANC Women’s League.
Criminal justice institutions such as the Hawks and the NPA were also no strangers to political interference and were eventually hollowed out by Zuma and his administration. But it is a different political environment today. It is also no secret that Magashule is likely to find himself in the dock in relation to the Estina dairy farm matter. This scandal saw at least R250m of taxpayers’ money meant for emerging black farmers in the small town of Vrede in the Free State flowing to the Gupta-linked company Estina. Some of the loot was allegedly used to settle the bills for the Guptas’ lavish family wedding at Sun City in 2013.
In 2019, the state capture commission heard how Magashule and Mosebenzi Zwane, who was then Free State agriculture MEC, were aware of irregularities taking place in the project but still allowed substantial payments to be made towards the programme. The NPA has made no secret of the fact that the Estina dairy farm matter is on its list of priority cases. The head of the authority’s investigating directorate, Hermione Cronje, told parliament’s portfolio committee on justice on Wednesday that her team was trying to hold those at “higher levels” accountable. Again she mentioned that the Vrede dairy farm case was a priority.
The intrigue earlier this week showed that Magashule is running scared. And he should be. We are not dealing with cloak and dagger matters any more. The evidence is out there, and it is compelling — we have had first-hand accounts at the Zondo commission, a detailed book by journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh into Magashule’s shenanigans, which go far beyond Estina, and the tranche of leaked Gupta e-mails.
There is no longer anywhere to hide; the NPA and Hawks are on the road to recovery and for the first time in more than a decade actually doing their work. The majority of South Africans are also starting to see political rhetoric for what it is — desperate moves by desperate people. As NPA head Shamila Batohi said earlier this week: the days of impunity are over.
• Quintal is political editor.
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