Pick of the week's articles

[Daily Maverick] Sunday, 13 August 2017 STORY OF THE WEEK [Op-Ed: The tinkering has started against media freedom in post-apartheid SA]( By JOE THLOLOE When it comes to media freedom – which is everyone's freedom, we should never again have to use the fig leaf of “I didn’t know”. BY JOE THLOLOE, who addressed the recent event, The Gathering – Media Edition. [amaBhungane and Scorpio #GuptaLeaks: How the Guptas paid for Zuma home]( As President Jacob Zuma’s fate hangs in the balance, new evidence shows it was not only his son Duduzane, but also his fourth wife and their young son – and by extension he – who benefited from Gupta largesse. The #GuptaLeaks show that millions were paid towards an exclusive property purchase – trashing years of denial. The evidence also suggests that some of the money that found its way to the purchase was the proceeds of bribery, laundered from the UAE. By AMABHUNGANE and SCORPIO. [Declassified: Apartheid profits – the tap root of the National Party]( Welcome to the second instalment of Open Secrets’ series, Declassified: Apartheid Profits. While researching the recently published book Apartheid Guns and Money: A Tale of Profit, Open Secrets collected approximately 40,000 archival documents from 25 archives in seven countries. This treasure trove contains damning details of the individuals and corporations that propped up apartheid and profited in return. Many of these documents were kept secret until now. Most remain hidden despite South Africa’s transition to democracy. OPEN SECRETS believes that it is vital to allow the public to scrutinise the primary evidence. Here we invite you behind the scenes to look at the documents that informed the book. Last week we detailed a few of the corporations which bankrolled the National Party. This week we zoom in on Naspers – the media giant whose top management described it as the “tap root of the National Party”. [amaBhungane: The woman who blew the whistle]( Through leaks, whistle-blowers and damning reports we have come to understand the degree to which the state has been captured. During Women’s Month, we profile one courageous professional who helped make it happen. By Susan Comrie for AMABHUNGANE. [Analysis: Even as he wins another no confidence vote, Zuma appears weak]( On Tuesday afternoon President Jacob Zuma survived another vote of no confidence in Parliament. Despite the massed forces of the opposition to his rule, both outside and inside the ANC, he is still the President of the Republic of South Africa. On the face of it, he has reason to swagger. There was a secret ballot, and he survived. But beneath that, the story is much more complicated. The group of ANC MPs, who owe their political allegiance, their salaries and their careers to the African National Congress, rebelled against party discipline. In some ways, Tuesday’s vote looks like just the start of a much more turbulent phase in our politics. By STEPHEN GROOTES. [A Moment in History: Voices raised in unison in support of Motion of no Confidence]( In 100 years’ time a young South African researching our history will come upon a trove of material documenting what is about to go down in the country in the next few days. In the archive will be a roll call and a public record of those who spoke out, those who supported the current ANC leadership as embodied in President Jacob Zuma and his cronies, and those who chose to remain silent. No matter whether the vote is secret, open or happens at all, the lines have been drawn, hands have been shown. By MARIANNE THAMM. [Scorpio and amaBhungane #GuptaLeaks: How Ajay Gupta was trusted with crafting SA’s global image]( From the time of the notorious 2013 Sun City wedding, the Guptas’ activities in South Africa have attracted a great deal of negative international media attention. Indeed, the reputational damage caused by the Guptas’ state capture to the global image of South Africa is probably incalculable. But one man might be able to help calculate it: Ajay Gupta, who for a full decade – until 2016 – sat on the board of Brand South Africa. That’s the body responsible for crafting a positive image of South Africa overseas. By SCORPIO, AMABHUNGANE and NEWS24. [McGown: ‘I did my best to see the best in the bad situations and the difficult times’]( After six years in the desert, former South African hostage in Mali, Stephen McGown, is ready to live. KRISTEN VAN SCHIE reports. [The Donald vs Kim Jong-un: When Bluster trumps Diplomacy]( The Yalu River – the boundary between North Korea and China – was where American and Chinese troops met and engaged in combat in the midst of the Korean conflict back in 1950-51. The Chinese had taken the defeat of their North Korean allies by UN forces rather badly and so they massively intervened. But, even more than North Korea’s defeat, the Chinese were much more discomfited by the possibility that the US would have its ground forces perched right on the Chinese border. J. BROOKS SPECTOR looks at the newest Korean crisis in light of that history and the psychology of crisis management, and is not particularly amused or comforted so far by reassurances from US officials. [FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO A FRIEND]( Copyright © 2017 Daily Maverick, All rights reserved. You are receiving this mail because you are awesome and on the Daily Maverick First Thing subscriber list. [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](