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Gangster State: Unravelling Ace Magashule's Web of Capture
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.
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.
421 pages, ebook
Published April 1, 2019
273 people are currently reading
315 people want to read
About the author
Pieter-Louis Myburgh
2 books26 followersPieter-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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
April 19, 2019
Riveting, spellbinding, well written easy read that will leave you pondering for days. The rot is deep. Political assassinations, bag men, political kickbacks, a report costing tax payers nearly R5m p/page, a few honest politicians, but mostly self serving corrupt ones.
"In this regard, Ramaphosa’s ‘new dawn’ has so far been just
that – a faint glimmer of hope peeking over the horizon. What this
country needs now is direct sunlight.The ANC’s secretary-gangster
and his cohort need to feel the heat of a truly independent and
unfettered law-enforcement environment".
"In this regard, Ramaphosa’s ‘new dawn’ has so far been just
that – a faint glimmer of hope peeking over the horizon. What this
country needs now is direct sunlight.The ANC’s secretary-gangster
and his cohort need to feel the heat of a truly independent and
unfettered law-enforcement environment".
April 8, 2019
Although there was much in the book that I had read before in various news reports, I found the detailed narrative both fascinating and chilling. Myburgh’s account of how a real world gangster (Ace Magashule in this case) goes about establishing his criminal empire .. and then growing and sustaining it ... really educational. I’m convinced that most of what he writes about Ace would stand up to cross-examination in a court of law. What are we waiting for!
August 28, 2020
A thoroughly well written and researched dive into the world of state capture in the often ignored provincial governments of South Africa. While I enjoyed reading this book, it also made me deeply despondent and even less hopeful of a corruption free well run administration in South Africa. How the gravy train has no run out fuel yet I do not know.
April 17, 2019
What a well thought out book. It reads easy I found it easier to read than the president's keeper.
April 28, 2019
Writing a book like Gangster State, is an act of light in the face of darkness. It takes tremendous tenacity and courage, in today's South Africa. Investigative journalists like Myburgh deserve high praise for digging up the truth, in the face of lies and denials. About everything!
But the facts speak for themselves.
Ramaphosa has a very rough road ahead. Ace's political foes lie littered on the battleground. How do you fight the Godfather using above board, diplomatic, legitimate, legal tools?
But the facts speak for themselves.
Ramaphosa has a very rough road ahead. Ace's political foes lie littered on the battleground. How do you fight the Godfather using above board, diplomatic, legitimate, legal tools?
May 10, 2019
An eye-popping look at the intricate webs of "state capture" that threaten to derail the South African dream. The research and sourcing are of the highest journalistic order and should catch the attention of police and prosecutors.
June 23, 2019
Depressing to understand the extent of the rot and the fact that the wheels of justice turn so slowly, if at all. Good investigative work nonetheless. We need fearless journalists like Pieter to exposure the bad guys. It couldn’t have been easy and I am sure lots of threats and risks involved.
April 22, 2019
Eye opening expose of Ace Magashule, a politician we had long known was crooked, but had no idea just how crooked. One could almost forgive tenders worth millions given to his family members and friends if the end result was the thousands of decently constructed low cost houses promised to the poor and not a few crumbling houses with no sewerage, electricity or water standing in a bare veld littered with debris. The winners were members of Ace’s inner circle of family and friends who became instant billionaires from these tenders and the losers were the poor people of the Free State who were given such hope by the rich promises given them by Ace, but who ended up with nothing but disappointment and despair.
Ace is a very clever - or should one say cunning- politician and has probably covered all traces of his corrupt dealings but there seems to be enough of a paper trail to link him to fraud with the billion rand Asbestos tender. Time will tell if the Hawks and the NPA have the grit to go after one of the most powerful politicians in the country. We can only hope that Cyril Ramaphosa’s anti-corruption stance has enough support from key public institutions to hold the guilty accountable and to discourage others from going down the same path. Sadly, I am not optimistic.
The book isn't particularly well written and sometimes the links between Ace and other role players seems very tenuous. This is balanced, however, with some very good information on who owned the companies given Free State contracts and the flow of money from the FS Dept of Human Settlements to streams of other bank accounts. Thank goodness we have a free press and journalists such as Pieter-Louis Myburgh have the dedication, perseverance and determination to expose the rot in our ruling party. I am not sure if his book would interest anyone who is not South African, but for readers who are, it is riveting reading. I actually couldn’t put it down.
Ace is a very clever - or should one say cunning- politician and has probably covered all traces of his corrupt dealings but there seems to be enough of a paper trail to link him to fraud with the billion rand Asbestos tender. Time will tell if the Hawks and the NPA have the grit to go after one of the most powerful politicians in the country. We can only hope that Cyril Ramaphosa’s anti-corruption stance has enough support from key public institutions to hold the guilty accountable and to discourage others from going down the same path. Sadly, I am not optimistic.
The book isn't particularly well written and sometimes the links between Ace and other role players seems very tenuous. This is balanced, however, with some very good information on who owned the companies given Free State contracts and the flow of money from the FS Dept of Human Settlements to streams of other bank accounts. Thank goodness we have a free press and journalists such as Pieter-Louis Myburgh have the dedication, perseverance and determination to expose the rot in our ruling party. I am not sure if his book would interest anyone who is not South African, but for readers who are, it is riveting reading. I actually couldn’t put it down.
April 27, 2019
A strong reminder of why we need good journalists. Pieter-Louis Myburgh does the digging, the watching, the checking that allows the rest of us to know what the politicians are doing behind our backs. Gangster State, like Chippy Olver's How to Steal a City and Andrew Feinstein's After the Party should be part of a voter education package - after reading any or all of them (and there are numerous other books in this category) it should be abundantly clear that South Africa needs a new government.
April 27, 2019
I enjoyed reading Peter’s book on Ace. Based on the overwhelming evidence he presents there must be cause for serious concern and I look forward to the next steps from our new NPA head.
April 20, 2019
Another disturbing expose of the political turmoil in South Africa, focused on gangster Ace Magashule and the province he has run into the ground.
The evidence of dirty tricks is overwhelming. The fact that he still holds high office is unfathomable.
Sad is the late Igo Mpambani: intelligent, educated overseas and with the aptitude to be a solid, contributing South African citizen, but Instead he chose greed, corruption and exploitation. There is enough evidence in the book to call him Ace’s fixer. The price was his young life in a Mafia style hit. Unsolved. Unprosecuted.
It is chilling that Ace Magashule is the ANC Secretary General.
The evidence of dirty tricks is overwhelming. The fact that he still holds high office is unfathomable.
Sad is the late Igo Mpambani: intelligent, educated overseas and with the aptitude to be a solid, contributing South African citizen, but Instead he chose greed, corruption and exploitation. There is enough evidence in the book to call him Ace’s fixer. The price was his young life in a Mafia style hit. Unsolved. Unprosecuted.
It is chilling that Ace Magashule is the ANC Secretary General.
April 18, 2019
This book will make you sick to your stomach. If only a tenth of the allegations and evidence presented in this book against the ANC Secretary-General is true, Ace Magashule is true, it's enough to frighten the living daylights out of any South African.
Pieter-Louis Myburgh meticulously follows paper trails and interviews high-profile players to trace Magashule's political ascendency and his links to dodgy deals, irregular tenders and the enrichment of family members and other associates.
It's a masterclass in how to capture the state and makes for compelling reading even as it shocks and dismays. It's clear the President Cyril Ramaphosa's "New Dawn" is far from seeing the sun breach the horizon.
Pieter-Louis Myburgh meticulously follows paper trails and interviews high-profile players to trace Magashule's political ascendency and his links to dodgy deals, irregular tenders and the enrichment of family members and other associates.
It's a masterclass in how to capture the state and makes for compelling reading even as it shocks and dismays. It's clear the President Cyril Ramaphosa's "New Dawn" is far from seeing the sun breach the horizon.
April 21, 2019
Interesting read. Found the details presented too fast, almost as if the author needed to present this in time for elections? Wish the author was a bit more objective and presented the facts for the reader to conclude him/herself.
April 17, 2019
Heavy on detail making it difficult to follow the trails of deceit.
South Africa is and always will be a Gangster State.
The rot will never be cauterized out of the wounds of criminalisation gouges.
South Africa is and always will be a Gangster State.
The rot will never be cauterized out of the wounds of criminalisation gouges.
August 9, 2022
This is probably the 3rd and definitely the last book of this nature that I read and everytime I am left with a deep desire for our literature to explore our pre-tenderpreneurship black success’.
There are a whole lot of legally successful ordinary black people to write about in this country. Yet, a very few books are written about them. I mean, I would rather read pages dedicated to the becoming of a Dr Mpho Rabada, Nonkululeko Gobodo and the millions of black parents who have managed to raise exceptional professionals & entrepreneurs through limited resources.
What a missed opportunity!
Otherwise, a well researched book nonetheless.
There are a whole lot of legally successful ordinary black people to write about in this country. Yet, a very few books are written about them. I mean, I would rather read pages dedicated to the becoming of a Dr Mpho Rabada, Nonkululeko Gobodo and the millions of black parents who have managed to raise exceptional professionals & entrepreneurs through limited resources.
What a missed opportunity!
Otherwise, a well researched book nonetheless.
July 6, 2021
Remarkable.
December 27, 2020
Gangster State, a mouthful of a book. The book, which unravels a South African politician's corruption and abuse of power, will give you a lot to think about. A lot was uncovered in the book. Many examples and evidence given that point to Magashule's (the person whom the book is about) corruption and abuse of power. Pieter-Louis Myburgh, in his presentation of the evidence of Magashule's corruption, gives a lot of examples of how Magashule's friends and family were enriched by the Free State government when Magashule was the premier.The author gives much to chew on in this book, including unsolved murders of people who were allegedly in dealings with Magashule. Although it gives a lot of information and tries to link certain things together, it is a relatively easy book to follow. I personally did not concern myself much about who is who but rather focused on what was done and the result of it all. However, this is a great book and I give it 5/5 stars.
August 15, 2022
Ace Magashule, the archetypal African corrupt delinquent-cum-politician. An ANC man accused of shameless dishonesty by the ANC cabal of jailbirds is like a prostitute accused of low morals by the other girls in the whorehouse.
This book could have made a great newspaper exposé instead of such a lengthy litany of graft, maladministration, corruption, incompetence and profligacy by the same lot of unevolved thieves over and over again
If you want a simple comparison, this could have been a pretty good radio-friendly single to hum along but instead I had to listen to the extended 12” megamix of a shit song South Africa has been hearing for decades. A bit boring in the end.
His other book The Republic of Gupta was an easier read, though much more intricate, and includes a few of the same episodes.
This book could have made a great newspaper exposé instead of such a lengthy litany of graft, maladministration, corruption, incompetence and profligacy by the same lot of unevolved thieves over and over again
If you want a simple comparison, this could have been a pretty good radio-friendly single to hum along but instead I had to listen to the extended 12” megamix of a shit song South Africa has been hearing for decades. A bit boring in the end.
His other book The Republic of Gupta was an easier read, though much more intricate, and includes a few of the same episodes.
October 28, 2019
A shocking (depending on where you sit) expose on the corruption and patronage networks in South Africa's ruling party, the ANC generally and its current Secretary-General, Ace Magahsule in particular.
It seems that Magashule is akin to a mob boss with shadowy ties to most of the government tenders that are awarded in his native Free State province, of which he was the Premier for over a decade. It is jarring stuff, but not entirely unsurprising, given the ongoing revelations of State capture.
The author is an investigative journalist so he lays out facts and figures in quite explicit detail, to the detriment of creating a book that is actually engaging to read. This is an informative read, but a really hard slog.
It seems that Magashule is akin to a mob boss with shadowy ties to most of the government tenders that are awarded in his native Free State province, of which he was the Premier for over a decade. It is jarring stuff, but not entirely unsurprising, given the ongoing revelations of State capture.
The author is an investigative journalist so he lays out facts and figures in quite explicit detail, to the detriment of creating a book that is actually engaging to read. This is an informative read, but a really hard slog.
July 17, 2019
A must read for all South Africans and others with an interest in Politics in general. Whilst it is not an easy read because of the level of detail, this should not deter anyone from reading it.
It is that very level of detail that makes the contents so horrifying. Not only alleged political corruption but alleged economic corruption (on a grand scale) are covered in the book with more than enough information for any half competent legal system to investigate.
The scariest part though? The titular "Ace" is currently the second (or third, depending on your point of view) most powerful politician in the ANC and in the Government of South Africa.
It is that very level of detail that makes the contents so horrifying. Not only alleged political corruption but alleged economic corruption (on a grand scale) are covered in the book with more than enough information for any half competent legal system to investigate.
The scariest part though? The titular "Ace" is currently the second (or third, depending on your point of view) most powerful politician in the ANC and in the Government of South Africa.
May 17, 2019
This is a well researched book which ties in very well with the book, The President's Keepers - Jacques Pauw. It's also good to see how those who have wronged the country, their alliances, their lies are starting to crumble as they're being backed into a corner, by and thought their own doings. No bad deed lasts forever. I wish they all pay for what they put us, the citizens through while they had the power.
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November 22, 2022An important contribution to the State Capture literature out there. I love good investagative journalism, and this book did just that, Myburgh took the complexities of top ANC corruption, and he translated it into an easilly digestible book. Myburgh does a good job at unraveling the threads that holds Magashule's mythology and power together.
June 13, 2024
Incredibly well written and well researched book. Harrowing insight into just how mercilessly the Zuma-Gupta association, and the likes of Magashule as parasitic facilitators, ransacked the public coffers. South Africa desperately needs the ANC to live up to its promises of old, but greed from the likes of the Magashule cabal are majorly responsible for slowing SA's post-apartheid progress.
May 13, 2019
Gangsters Paradise
Interesting book on the alleged criminal activities of on of the ANC's senior leaders. Just as shocking as the Gupta scandal and make the Watsons look like common shoplifters.
Interesting book on the alleged criminal activities of on of the ANC's senior leaders. Just as shocking as the Gupta scandal and make the Watsons look like common shoplifters.
November 24, 2020
Well written and good to read in a time when Ace had been arrested. A long time coming and how deeply rooted corruption has become. Grateful that people like PL Myburgh are able and willing to expose the corruption.
May 17, 2019
Revelations in the book will only come as a surprise to the very naive. Spoiler alert: politicians are corrupt.
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June 3, 2019Thought provoking.
July 9, 2019
Excellent read. Really a big eye opener on how the circles surrounding were operating.
August 15, 2019
Depressing but necessary read for all of us in South Africa. Well researched and thorough, exposing such a cancer. Bravo!
August 28, 2019
Further unbelievable exposure of corruption carried out with absolute impunity and zero accountability. Who suffers? Taxpayers and the poor.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews