To catch a thief...

[Impaq]( [Mail & Guardian Newsletter logo](#) [mg.co.za]( [The Ampersand Daily Newsletter from the M&G team](#) [Divider Strip] July 09 2020 | [View in browser]( [Divider Strip] [Facebook icon]( [Twitter icon]( [Instagram icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( Hi there, John Leonard Orr was considered something of a maverick when it came to fire investigation. Considered to have a sixth sense, Orr would uncannily be close at hand when fires broke out in southern California in the 1980s. He had originally wanted to be a police officer, but had flunked the entrance exam; instead, he became a fire investigator and career fire officer. Orr would show up at fire scenes, "gaze at the area, stroke his mustache, and like a water seeker with a divining rod, say, 'I believe the point of origin is ... there'," Joseph Wambaugh describes in his true-crime account Fire Lover. And he was right, every single time, because he was an arsonist who was later convicted of serial arson and four counts of murder. One of his victims was a two-year-old boy. Closer to home, Ibrahim Magu is having a tough time of it. Aanu Adeoye reports that the Nigerian corruption buster was [recently arrested for graft](. As acting chairman of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the government body whose sole function is to investigate and prosecute financial crimes, the irony is lost on no one. Much like South Africa, Nigeria is a country in which apparently contradictory events can be true at the same time. Take, for instance, the drama playing out in the Free State. Thanduxolo Jika reports that Home Affairs has given a Free State municipality an ultimatum to remove former executive mayor Nthateng Maoke from its payroll, because she continues to draw a salary as an ordinary councillor, despite having been [found to be an illegal immigrant](. In a strongly worded letter to the Setsoto council's speaker, Krog Mokhuoane, two weeks ago, the department said that the municipality's continued employment of Maoke, whom it found during an investigation last year to be a Lesotho national, was in violation of the Immigration Act. But Maoke is fighting back. Through her lawyers, she has interdicted the government from arresting her or deporting her to Lesotho. South Africa, alive with possibilities. The critical issues our reporters specialise in haven't gone away; if anything, they have been exacerbated by this current crisis. We are committed to providing you with factual and up-to-date news, comment and analysis through this pandemic and beyond. If you're able to, this is a crucial moment to support our newsroom with a subscription or donation. Yours in solidarity, Kiri Rupiah & Luke Feltham [Divider Strip] [Sanlam]( [Divider Strip] [Facebook icon]( [Twitter icon]( [Instagram icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( You are receiving this email on {EMAIL} because 1.) You're a member of "Mail & Guardian" or 2.) previously subscribed [M&G logo] 25 Owl St, Braamfontein Werf, Johannesburg, 2092 Want to be removed? No problem! [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Email support: help@media-connect.co.za - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -