The (not-so-secret) diary of Ace Magashule

In the M&G this week [View this email in your browser]( April 23, 2021 [Mail & Guardian]( [Mail & Guardian]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( Hi there, Let’s take a sneak peak at Ace's busy diary: First stop, Mbeki and Motlanthe: Set a date? Zoom off to Zuma: Daddy delay with KZN supporters? Pop in on Phosa: Fight (legally) MK vets: Chaos mode Plus how to arrest police brutality; the Special Investigating Unit’s “deals” with PPE pilferers; and six things you need to know about the Covid vaccine. With his family’s permission, we posthumously publish Phumlani Pikoli’s Cabin Fever. Accused by some of making money out of Dambudzo Marechera, Flora Veit-Wild's new memoir, They Called You Dambudzo, does little to change perceptions of her overwhelming grip on his legacy. Get the full story in this week’s M&G Friday. Magashule snubs former presidents Mbeki and Motlanthe: Ace Magashule is a busy man – so busy that tea dates with former heads of state will just have to wait. Lizeka Tandwa and Paddy Harper report that the ANC secretary general has [allegedly snubbed former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe]( causing some party leaders to doubt his stated intent to consult party elders on whether he should step aside. ANC leaders close to both Motlanthe and Mbeki told the Mail & Guardian that the two party veterans were still waiting for Magashule to announce when he would meet them. JSC won’t axe Hlophe from selection panel: Western Cape judge president John Hlophe will, on 4 June, plead his case before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) as he seeks to avert a recommendation that he be impeached for gross misconduct for trying to sway two judges of the Constitutional Court 13 years ago. Emsie Ferreira reports that the [JSC will hear representations from Hlophe]( as it deliberates on a ruling a fortnight ago by the Judicial Conduct Tribunal that he was on a politically-motivated mission when he raised a pending matter relating to the corruption case against then aspirant president Jacob Zuma with judges Bess Nkabinde and Chris Jafta in 2008. Cape fire devastation reinforces consequences of defence budget cuts: When the world-renowned Jagger Library at the University of Cape Town, with its priceless collection of African literature, went up in flames on Sunday, the South African Air Force had only one of its powerful Oryx helicopters available for fire duties. And only for two hours, writes Erika Gibson. To save what possibly could have been rescued depended on the water drops performed by four Huey helicopters belonging to Working on Fire and more than 200 firefighters on the ground. When only one Oryx was available, [it was “saved” for possible emergency rescues of hikers]( or runners trapped on the mountain, while Working on Fire continued with the water-bombing. ‘Who is scamming who?’: Sexwale says White Spiritual Boy Trust is real: “I don’t suffer fools,” Tokyo Sexwale said on Thursday during a press briefing about the White Spiritual Boy Trust, which the ANC veteran and businessman insisted exists despite information suggesting it is a scam. Sexwale told the media that the upper echelons of the ANC and government had known about the fund for two years. Sarah Smit has done her damndest to [break down Sexwale’s thought process](. ‘Suspicious’ tech company EOH must pay back millions: The Special Investigating Unit has found that a R250-million software procurement deal awarded to JSE-listed technology service company EOH was irregular. According to an SIU statement, the contracts for Microsoft software licences acquired by the department of defence in 2016 and 2017 [were inflated by more than R40-million](. The perverse irony of the Super League-haunted semi-finals: There is some [irony in it being these four clubs]( – Chelsea, Manchester City, PSG and City – that have reached the Champions League semi-finals at this inauspicious time. For these have always been not only the villains of the piece, but those who have benefited most obviously from the sport’s inextricable relationship with greed. Khaya Sithole: Drug firms addicted to profit, not cure: The opioid crisis in the United States [saw its beginnings in Big Pharma]( one of which makes a Covid vaccine. Unstoppable Schoenmaker set to emulate Penny Heyns at Olympics: More than two decades after Penny Heyns won a historic double at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, another South African breaststroke specialist looks set to shine at the games, with Tatjana Schoenmaker[aiming for gold in the 100m and 200m breaststroke races in Tokyo](. Celine Abrahams breaks down her chances. That’s us for another week. If you’re enjoying this newsletter please forward it to a friend — or foe if you’re so inclined. And the best way you can support us is by taking out an [M&G subscription]( for yourself. Until Tuesday, Kiri Rupiah & Luke Feltham [Subscribe now]( Enjoy The Ampersand? Share it with your friends [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( [Share]( [Share]( Copyright © 2021 Mail & Guardian Media LTD, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive communications from the Mail & Guardian either at our website or by taking out a print subscription. 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