Pick of the week's articles

[Daily Maverick] Sunday, 20 August 2017 STORY OF THE WEEK [Analysis: Ramaphosa’s high-speed response to smear reveals he is at the ready, in the game]( By STEPHEN GROOTES One of the truisms about politics is that it can be a dirty business. Friends are betrayed, backs are knifed, dirt is thrown. In the case of South Africa, where the stakes in the ANC are incredibly high, many among us have been waiting for the dirty war to start, for those involved in this to start throwing whatever mud they may have. Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday may have given a demonstration of the best possible way to respond to this kind of attack. And by doing so, he may have revealed exactly how well organised his political team is. [Makhosi Khoza: ANC hounds are worse than apartheid forces]( ANC MP Makhosi Khoza has been one of her party’s most outspoken members against President Jacob Zuma. She was clear she planned to vote against the president in the recent no confidence vote. As her opponents in the ANC prepare to pounce, GREG NICOLSON spoke to Khoza on Sunday. [Analysis: It is time to review the appointment of Busi Mkhwebane]( There has been persistent unease about whether the public protector, advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, was the fit and proper person to fill Thuli Madonsela’s shoes. After yesterday’s damning court ruling in the SA Reserve Bank case and amid the Zumafication of the country, can we afford to continue to give her the benefit of the doubt? By JANET HEARD. [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. [Western Cape: Brigadier Sonja Harri helped thousands of victims. Now she is a victim herself – of Politics & Backstabbing]( Head of the Western Cape Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit Brigadier Sonja Harri, who has over 30 years’ experience and has been instrumental in helping to solve a myriad high-profile cases including the brutal murder and rape of Anene Booysen, has been languishing at home for eight months while she faces questionable charges of misconduct. Meanwhile, the region’s deputy provincial commissioner of detectives, Major-General Patrick Mbotho, who exercises command and oversight of this crucial unit, allegedly posted pornographic messages onto an official police WhatsApp group in July. He’s still at work. By MARIANNE THAMM. [#GuptaLeaks: Guptas’ blue lights mystery solved]( The #GuptaLeaks have finally solved the mystery of the blue light vehicles that illegally ferried hundreds of guests to the infamous Sun City wedding extravaganza in April 2013. By NEWS24. [Declassified: Apartheid profits – The Sanctions Busters’ Toolkit]( This is the third installment 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. 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. This week we zoom out and unpack some of the ways that the private sector colluded with the apartheid government to bust sanctions and some of the tools that made this possible. [Analysis: KPMG action over Gupta Inc links – too little, too late?]( Mistakes have been made, KPMG acknowledged on Friday – 42 days after Scorpio and amaBhungane revealed how the audit firm saw no evil in client Gupta Inc. In reaction to extreme public pressure, KPMG has announced action against three partners pending a review into the firm’s work for the Guptas. But as yet, the firm has not taken public accountability for any concrete wrongdoing other than its partners’ attendance of the 2013 Gupta wedding, and a failure to cut ties with the Guptas earlier than it did. By SCORPIO [Vanishing Act: Grace Mugabe flees South Africa]( Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe was due to appear in court on Tuesday facing assault charges. She would have followed the appearance of South Africa’s deputy minister of Higher Education, Mduduzi Manana, in the same court, for similar charges. Instead, Mugabe vanished, making a farce of South Africa’s law enforcement. By BHEKI C. SIMELANE. [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](