Author | Jacques Pauw |
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Country | South Africa |
Language | English |
Subject | |
Genre | Non-fiction |
Published | 2022 |
Publisher | NB publishers |
Publication date | 11 November 2022 |
Pages | 336 |
ISBN | 9780624090533 (Paperback) |
Preceded by | The President's Keepers: Those Keeping Zuma in Power and out of Prison |
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President (2009–2018) Contents
Media gallery | ||
Our Poisoned Land: Living in the Shadows of Zuma's Keepers a 2022 book by Jacques Pauw, a South African investigative journalist, about the allegedly corrupt power networks between the South African government and the country's political elite, most notably the African National Congress (ANC). The book follows on from Pauw's 2017 book The President's Keepers but with greater focus on government institutions not looked at in the previous book and the State Security Agency (SSA). [1] It is updated to include findings from government committees and investigations such as the Zondo Commission. It asks why, after 5 years since the end of the Zuma administration, have most people implicated in state corruption still not been prosecuted [2] [3] and examines efforts to fight corruption in the post-Jacob Zuma ANC government under Cyril Ramaphosa. [4]
A particular focus of the book is on the SSA and its head, appointed by President Jacob Zuma, Arthur Fraser. It examines a number of issues ranging from the allegedly corrupt systematic funneling of large sums of public money from the SSA to fund the ANC, and internal ANC power battles in support of former president Zuma, to alleged links between the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, and suspected illicit tobacco trader Adriano Mazzotti. [5] The book alleges that a number of corrupt senior police officials and prosecutors in the SAPS, crime intelligence, Hawks, and the National Prosecuting Authority are still in positions of power thereby preventing investigations and prosecutions for state corruption. [1]
Allegations in the book by Pauw connecting the Malema and other senior EFF members to organised crime resulted in the EFF trying to block the sale of the book through legal action. [6] [7] It was speculated in the media that, similar to the Zuma's efforts to ban the Presidents Keepers, these efforts resulted in a Streisand effect that helped boost sales of the book. [8] [9] Jeremy Gordin, in a review for the South African political news aggregator PoliticsWeb, described the book as being more about the "life and “adventures”" of the author than as a sequel to the Presidents Keepers whilst also being a "thorough, proficient (and sometimes entertaining) compilation" of the state corruption it examines. [10]
The book was the number one Christmas best selling book in South Africa in 2022. [11] [2]
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-apartheid activist, member of Umkhonto we Sizwe, and president of the African National Congress (ANC) between 2007 and 2017.
Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma, sometimes referred to by her initials NDZ, is a South African politician, medical doctor and former anti-apartheid activist. A longstanding member of the African National Congress (ANC), she currently serves as Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities and is the Chancellor of the University of Limpopo.
Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula is a South African politician who currently serves as the Speaker of the National Assembly as of 19 August 2021. She has previously held the office of Minister of Defence and Military Veterans from June 2012 to August 2021. She was also the Minister of Home Affairs from 2004 to 2009 and Minister of Correctional Services from 2009 to 2012.
South Africa since 1994 transitioned from the system of apartheid to one of majority rule. The election of 1994 resulted in a change in government with the African National Congress (ANC) coming to power. The ANC retained power after subsequent elections in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019. Children born during this period are known as the born-free generation, and those aged eighteen or older, were able to vote for the first time in 2014.
Samson Gwede Mantashe, popularly known as Gwede Mantashe, is a South African politician and trade unionist, who as of 18 December 2017, serves as the National Chairperson of the African National Congress. He is also a former chairperson of the South African Communist Party and Secretary General of the ANC. On the 26th of February 2018, during a cabinet reshuffle by president Cyril Ramaphosa, Mantashe was appointed Minister of Mineral Resources. In May 2019, he became Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, when his earlier portfolio was merged with the energy portfolio.
Jacques Pauw is a South African investigative journalist who was an executive producer of the Special Assignment current affairs programme on SABC. Pauw was a founding member and assistant editor of the anti-apartheid Afrikaans newspaper Vrye Weekblad. He began his television career in 1994, specializing in documentaries around the African continent.
Julius Sello Malema is a South African politician who is a Member of Parliament and the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a left-wing party which he founded in 2013. He was formerly the President of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League from 2008 until his expulsion from the party in 2012.
Fikile April Mbalula is a South African politician who is the 17th Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC). A long-serving cabinet minister, he previously served as Minister of Sports and Recreation from 2010 to 2017, as Minister of Police from 2017 to 2018 and as Minister of Transport between 2019 and 2023. Mbalula is a former leader of the African National Congress Youth League. Mbalula also serves as the head of elections for the African National Congress.
Cassel Mathale is a South African politician who was the third Premier of Limpopo between March 2009 and July 2013. He is currently the Deputy Minister of Police in the South African government and before that was Deputy Minister of Small Business Development from February 2018 to May 2019.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African left-wing to far-left pan-Africanist and Marxist–Leninist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) President Julius Malema, and his allies, in 2013. Malema is President of the EFF, heading the Central Command Team which serves as the central structure of the party. It is currently the third-largest party in both houses of the South African Parliament.
David Mahlobo is a South African politician and Deputy Ministry of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation. He is a former Minister of Energy and former Minister of State Security.
Black First Land First (BLF) is a black consciousness, pan-Africanist and revolutionary socialist political movement and political party in South Africa. It was founded in 2015 by Andile Mngxitama following his expulsion from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by Julius Malema.
The Gupta family is a wealthy and influential business family from India, with close ties to former South African President Jacob Zuma and his administration. The family's most notable members are the brothers Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh "Tony" Gupta—as well as Atul's nephews Varun, and US-based Ashish and Amol. The family's business empire in South Africa spanned a variety of industries, including mining, media, and technology. The family name has become synonymous with corruption in South Africa as well as undue influence, and state capture. They have been sanctioned by multiple countries for their activities, with investigations ongoing in both South Africa and the United States. Many prominent South Africans and politicians have been linked to the family's alleged corrupt activities, including members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party. The Gupta family has since fled South Africa and their current whereabouts are unknown although since fleeing the country their presence has been reported in Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Vanuatu.
Economic Freedom Fighters v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others; Democratic Alliance v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others [2016] ZACC 11 is a major judgment of the Constitutional Court of South Africa which finds that President Jacob Zuma breached the South African Constitution by failing to implement the recommendations in the Public Protector's Nkandla report.
General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.
The President's Keepers: Those Keeping Zuma in Power and out of Prison a 2017 book by Jacques Pauw, a South African investigative journalist, about allegedly corrupt and compromised power networks in the South African government under President Jacob Zuma.
Arthur Fraser is a South African civil servant and former intelligence operative who was head of the State Security Agency from 2016 to 2018 and National Commissioner for Correctional Services from 2018 to 2021. He was previously an anti-apartheid activist in the African National Congress, a senior official in the now-defunct National Intelligence Agency, and briefly a senior official in the Department of Home Affairs.
Daluxolo Christopher Mpofu is a South African lawyer, politician, and former businessman who was the National Chairperson of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) from 2014 to 2019. He served on the Judicial Service Commission from 2017 to 2022 and formerly served as chief executive officer of the South African Broadcasting Corporation from 2005 to 2009.
The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission, is a public inquiry established in January 2018 by former President Jacob Zuma to investigate allegations of state capture, corruption, and fraud in the public sector in South Africa.
The 2020 Phala Phala Robbery or Cyril Ramaphosa Farm Burglary or Farmgate Scandal was a burglary of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s private Phala Phala game farm near Bela-Bela, Limpopo, South Africa. The incident occurred on 9 February 2020 in which an indeterminate amount of cash was stolen. Arthur Fraser, an ally of former President Jacob Zuma alleged that around 4 million US dollars of undeclared foreign currency had been stolen. However, subsequent reports indicated that the amount stolen was $580 000 Ramaphosa denied any wrongdoing, and sought judicial review of a report by a panel appointed by the South African Parliament released in 2022 that accused him of "serious misconduct".