In spite of Cyril Ramaphosa’s ‘new dawn’, there are powerful forces in the ruling party that risk losing everything if corruption and State capture finally do come to an end. At the centre of the old guard’s fightback efforts is Ace Magashule, a man viewed by some as South Africa’s most dangerous politician.

In this explosive book, investigative journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh ventures deeper than ever before into Magashule’s murky dealings, from his time as a struggle activist in the 1980s to his powerful rule as premier of the Free State province for nearly a decade, and his rise to one of the ANC’s most influential positions.

Sifting through heaps of records, documents and exclusive source interviews, Myburgh explores Magashule’s relationship with the notorious Gupta family and other tender moguls; investigates government projects costing billions that enriched his friends and family but failed the poor; reveals how he was about to be arrested by the Scorpions before their disbandment in the late 2000s; and exposes the methods used to keep him in power in the Free State and to secure him the post of ANC secretary-general.

Most tellingly, Myburgh pieces together a pack of leaked emails and documents to reveal shocking new details on a massive Free State government contract and Magashule’s dealings with a businessman who was gunned down in Sandton in 2017. These files seem to lay bare the methods of a man who usually operated without leaving a trace.

Gangster State  is an unflinching examination of the ANC’s top leadership in the post–Jacob Zuma era, one that should lead readers to a disconcerting conclusion: When it comes to the forces of capture, South Africa is still far from safe.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pieter-Louis Myburgh is an award-winning investigative journalist. His series of exposés on a multibillion-rand contract for new locomotives at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) earned him several accolades, including South Africa’s prestigious Taco Kuiper Award for investigative journalism. After completing his BPhil (honours) in journalism at Stellenbosch University, Myburgh cut his teeth as a general reporter at Beeld newspaper in Johannesburg. He found his feet as an investigative journalist at the Afrikaans weekly newspaper Rapport before moving to News24, where he still exposes the mechanics of dodgy deals and crooked cronies.

Gangster State: Unravelling Ace Magashule’s Web of Capture is published by Penguin Random House South Africa