The ANC has launched an attack on the Sunday Times and City Press newspapers for publishing details of how ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule stands accused of rampant corruption‚ ruthless gangsterism and even exaggerating his struggle credentials.
On Sunday‚ the party called the reports a well co-ordinated attack‚ lies‚ fake news and propaganda.
Both Sunday newspapers published shocking claims on their front pages based on Gangster State: Unravelling Ace Magashule’s Web of Capture ‚a sensational new book published on Sunday.
But Luthuli House has hit back, saying it was part of a “carefully planned Stratcom operation” against Magashule and the ANC.
Apart from attacking the newspaper stories‚ the party did not respond to either the contents of the reports or the book.
ANC spokesperson Dakota Legoete said there was a well co-ordinated media attack against Magashule by the Sunday Times and the City Press to undermine the ANC’s election campaign.
“This Sunday’s continuation of front page lies by these two embarrassing rags should not be given any credibility by responding to their baseless allegations,” he said.
Legoete said the stories “are timed for publication barely a month before our national elections‚ to try and inflict the maximum damage against the secretary-general of the ANC”.
In the book‚ Magashule is also accused of exaggerating his struggle credentials.
One of his claims is that he was part of a group who trained Stompie Seipei and others how to use AK47s and hand grenades at the home of the late Winnie MadikizelaMandela.
However‚ a former Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) operative from the Free State and a former United Democratic Front (UDF) leader said Magashule was talking nonsense.
“Is he saying he trained a child to be a soldier? If that is the case‚ whatever they were doing there was not an MK operation‚” the former UDF leader said.
The book also details how a former ally claims Magashule drove him from Bloemfontein to Johannesburg in 2013 without disclosing who they were about to meet.
Thabo Manyoni‚ who was the Mangaung mayor at the time‚ said the two arrived at the Gupta compound in Saxonwold‚ where the premier introduced him to Atul Gupta as “the person you will be working with”.
During their meeting Gupta boasted about friends in high places‚ claiming he could summon cabinet ministers to Saxonwold within an hour with a phone call.
He offered Manyoni an A4 envelope stuffed with cash.
The former mayor traces his political demise to his refusal to co-operate in state capture.
Criticising the two newspapers‚ the ANC said: “It is no coincidence that the Sunday Times and City Press are used as the propaganda instruments to launch this campaign.
“Both newspapers have been competing with each other on which can be the most notorious peddler of fake news.
“Both have also been involved in vitriolic and sustained propaganda campaigns against comrade Ace Magashule and other ANC politicians.”