The Weekend Warrior speaks

[Gems]( [Mail & Guardian Newsletter logo](#) [mg.co.za]( [The Ampersand Daily Newsletter from the M&G team](#) [Divider Strip] August 12 2020 | [View in browser]( [Divider Strip] [Facebook icon]( [Twitter icon]( [Instagram icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( Hi there, Des van Rooyen truly is an extraordinary gentleman. Not only did he once display immense political agility in catapulting himself from the backbench into a ministerial post, but he now insists he has the dexterity and psychic chops to make valid appointments without so much as a glance at a CV. Our very own Mystic Meg. The man South Africans call "Weekend Special" testified on Tuesday at the Zondo commission of inquiry, the same setting in which he has been accused of being a Gupta soldier in the state capture coup attempt. As Sarah Smit reports, Van Rooyen told the commission that Gupta-linked businessperson Mohamed Bobat's appointment as a special adviser at the national treasury was "[purely on merit](. "I've never seen his CV, but I know his profile ... Through my engagements with him, I was able to verify that he is a qualified person. I had no reason not to believe him when he told me of his qualifications." Naturally, commission chairperson Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo was curious as to why the former finance minister would rely on his spidey sense for such an important appointment instead of following protocol. "Ideally, chair, I would definitely have taken that route," Van Rooyen replied. "And I didn't take that route because I felt a lot of pressure, especially with how the financial markets reacted [to Nhlanhla Nene's dismissal]. So I had to think quickly ... I never had reservations about his [Bobat's] integrity. And I still don't." This is all very understandable if one believes his opening soliloquy that the media is solely responsible for tarnishing his name. Completely unrelated, Eusebius McKaiser has written about the perils of [ANC superfans]( who are unable to acknowledge their party's fallibility. How does one defend the marked disregard of the values and lives that built Africa's oldest liberation movement by its own members? Long story, short Madam Vice-President?: Senator Kamala Harris of California, whom presidential hopeful Joe Biden announced on Tuesday as [his pick for vice-president]( will be the first black woman and the first person of Indian descent to be nominated for national office by a major party. In a country so divided along racial lines, it remains to be seen whether her inclusion will make a difference come November. Watch your step: The arrest this week of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong reveals the repressive reality of the city's [new made-in-China national security law](. It also sends a sharp signal to the remaining independent media in the territory: watch your step, or you could be next. Eastern promises: President Vladimir Putin says Russia has become the first country to approve a vaccine offering "sustainable immunity" against the coronavirus and that one of his daughters has been inoculated. The announcement came on Tuesday after scientists in the West raised concerns about the speed of development of Russian vaccines, suggesting [researchers might be cutting corners]( after coming under pressure from authorities to deliver. Vicious lies and dangerous rumours: The more Zimbabweans protest against the regime, the weaker the president's legitimacy becomes. Against this backdrop it is easy to see why so many Zimbabwean Twitterati and WhatsAppers assume that the man known as "The Crocodile" is living on borrowed time. Find out what makuhwa -- [rumours]( -- can teach us about Zimbabwean politics. Van Rooyen may think we are bankrolled by white monopoly capital, but the reality is we rely on your support. Please consider a [donation or subscription]( to keep our coverage of the state capture commission, and other pressing issues, going. Until tomorrow, Kiri Rupiah & Luke Feltham [Divider Strip] [Gems2]( [Divider Strip] [PrimeStars]( [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 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -