1. GIGABA'S GUPTA GAFFE – It's been a very bad week for recently reshuffled Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba. First, it was the flip-flopping on the question of the Guptas' citizenship, and then South Africans were left wondering if the minister had caught lie-steriosis after saying he's too sick to answer questions in Parliament. Read more here and here.
2. MALEMA'S MANDELA BAY ULTIMATUM – The EFF's coalition of convenience with the DA continues to be on thin ice. This follows the red party's repeated insistence that the DA's decision not to vote in favour of a motion to review the Constitution on land expropriation without compensation would result in blows to the DA in its coalition metros. Malema had controversial words for the DA, saying it was gunning specifically for white mayor Athol Trollip because "when you want to hit them hard – [you should] go after a white man". Read more here.
Meanwhile, the DA's own internal polling shows its electoral support is trailing at pre-2016 levels. The party believes, however, that while the game may have changed with the ascendance of Cyril Ramaphosa to the presidency, it doesn't believe it's game over. Read more here and here.
3. ZONDO'S STATE CAPTURE SLAYERS – Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has chosen the commissioners to lead the landmark state-capture probe. His officials include a hit parade of lawyers and a former auditor-general, who will investigate all the allegations of state capture that have rocked South Africa for a decade. Read more here and here.
