Pulling State Capture out of Ass and reclaiming it for Sass as politics and plagiarism collide
I feared we'd lose Faith Muthambi forever a couple of seasons ago. Please Sass writers, we need to hear more from this queen. Perhaps a spinoff show? A reality show? The Real House Ministers of the National Assembly?
Dear writers of the South Africa Sh*t Show.
Thank you so much for reading my monthly reviews of the South Africa Sh*t Show (Sass) and taking my constructive feedback into consideration.
When I last wrote about Sass, back in April, it was an open letter to my editor, to submit my notice of resignation over her refusal to investigate the writers of the America Sh*t Show (Ass) for intellectual property theft, specifically their plagiarism of Sass's most original storyline, State Capture. Upon receiving my notice of resignation, she immediately wished me well on my future endeavours, clearly demonstrating a lack of gratitude for my great contribution to culture as our country's all-time greatest non-award-winning film critic.
I've since decided to retract the resignation, for your sake of course. As I informed my editor in my resignation retraction email, I'll let her off the hook this time, but she is to consider my now-retracted resignation letter as the first written warning from me; one or five more strikes and that's it, I will resign! But for now, I must humbly accept the tough reality that the local film industry needs me, as demonstrated by the changes you've made since my open letter of resignation was published.
It is clear that you realised the gravity of the intellectual property theft that Trump's Ass engaged in by plagiarizing the State Capture storyline. When I read that you'd brought back 'Gupta-era minister Lynne Brown' to help the ANC with its Western Cape strategy, I knew you were pulling State Capture out of that Ass and bringing it back home where it belongs. With Brown's return the show, almost all the 'Gupta ministers' are back in play. Bravo!!!
Her fellow Gupta ministers, Faith Muthambi and Malusi Gigaba, have long returned to Parliament as ANC MPs. We still await former mines minister Mosebenzi Zwane's return, but hopefully it won't be much longer now, Sass always delivers. I feared we'd lose Faith Muthambi forever a couple of seasons ago when the Zondo Commission found that 'she had abused her powers in a number of instances. In these circumstances, the finding to make is that Ms Muthambi had unlawfully (shared) that confidential information with the Guptas and their associates. It was quite clear that she was doing so in order to talk to their friend, (then) President Zuma, to ensure that she had certain powers as Minister of Communications.'
The Thloloe Commission on the other hand, came to the 'conclusion that Muthambi had abused her power to influence news coverage by the SABC'. Then of course there was that Sunday Times report about the R300,000 of public funds she spent on, among other things, flying 30 friends and family to her Budget speech.
A little more than a year later, circa 2019, she ranked a lowly 79th on the ANC National Party List. Thankfully, the ANC has given her a few more government gigs since then, and even rewarded her with an appointment as a member of the ANC's influential National Disciplinary Committee. After taking a much needed 18-month sabbatical, in May last year she returned to her seat in the National Assembly, and is now ranked 38th on the ANC National Party List. What a legend!!! Please Sass writers, we need to hear more from this queen. Perhaps a spinoff show with the freshly returned Lynne Brown? A reality show? The Real House Ministers of the National Assembly?
An upcoming film reviewer and ardent fan of Sass, Ferial Haffajee, recently made a good observation on these very pages: 'Brown was at the heart of the State Capture project as she enabled the Gupta network at Eskom, Transnet and Denel by using her position as the minister of public enterprises to influence board appointments at various state-owned companies, the commission of inquiry into State Capture found.'
When Sassy met Assy in the Oval
While I had my doubts about the recent 'Sass and Ass in the Oval' crossover special episode, I couldn't deny the brilliance of the Sass writers in that moment. Maestro Malema's rendition of a South African classic, beamed on screens worldwide; a truly outstanding and nuanced portrayal of the bittersweet taste of success. Here be Malema finally on top of the world, his name uttered by presidents and top golfers alike. Yet, as viewers we knew that this moment that he had long dreamt of reached him at his loneliest, abandoned by comrades, his face deserted by collagen.
Is that not a perfect metaphor for life itself, that the moments we dream of and work towards never come in the neatly nationalised package we imagined. So much to think about.
Still, another moment just as bittersweet: seated there in the Ass Oval opposite Trump was that dear John character; at the apotheosis of his career, finally a member of the ruling class; a moment beamed on screens all over the world. Alas, his president would soon reveal his role as little more than window-dressing to demonstrate to the world the country's ongoing commitment to its White Economic Empowerment programme (WEE). No sooner had he made peace with his role as a token, his aptitude for governance was questioned live in front of the world by the country's CEO, one very snitchy Mr Rupert.
'Mr Steenhuisen won't admit that he runs the Western Cape where I live, and the biggest murder rate is in the Cape Flats,' CEO Rupert snitched to literally millions of people. Why are CEOs always the biggest snitches?!?
Meanwhile, as the maestro and the WEE beneficiary embraced these bittersweet moments in the global spotlight, one Ms Zille watched and wondered when her 'one moment in time, when I'm all that I thought I could be' — as the late great Whitney Houston sang — would come to fruition. She knew deep within her heart that it should be her up there on those screens, not some token.
Never one to give up on a dream, be it trying out drag or Comedy Central roasts, she continues to pursue her 'one moment in time'. Rumour has it you guys might have a Joburg mayorship storyline lined up for her. Please give the poor thing her happy ending already, give her her moment, let her have that mayorship and let everything work out. Let her zeal fill every pothole.
That said, beyond the return of State Capture, I'm quite captivated by this moving exploration of themes of aspiration, desperation and betrayal, as demonstrated by the rise and fall of Maestro Malema, and the insatiable appetite for the limelight that still consumes Septuagenarian Zille. I'm especially touched by the heartbreaking Steenhuisen storyline. While we may not have had the experience of the richest and most powerful men telling the whole world that we're the kind of WEE candidate who's not up to the job, I think many of us can relate to what it feels to always be reminded that nobody thinks you deserve your position in life.
With such great writing and performances in the bag, I have no doubt the future of Sass is in safe hands. And that Ass can plagiarise all they want, they can even keep Sass's most crooked export, Mr Musk; but State Capture is surely coming back to its originators, the South Africa Sh*t Show, the Cradle of Crooked Kind. DM
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Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Pulling State Capture out of Ass and reclaiming it for Sass as politics and plagiarism collide
I feared we'd lose Faith Muthambi forever a couple of seasons ago. Please Sass writers, we need to hear more from this queen. Perhaps a spinoff show? A reality show? The Real House Ministers of the National Assembly? Dear writers of the South Africa Sh*t Show. Thank you so much for reading my monthly reviews of the South Africa Sh*t Show (Sass) and taking my constructive feedback into consideration. When I last wrote about Sass, back in April, it was an open letter to my editor, to submit my notice of resignation over her refusal to investigate the writers of the America Sh*t Show (Ass) for intellectual property theft, specifically their plagiarism of Sass's most original storyline, State Capture. Upon receiving my notice of resignation, she immediately wished me well on my future endeavours, clearly demonstrating a lack of gratitude for my great contribution to culture as our country's all-time greatest non-award-winning film critic. I've since decided to retract the resignation, for your sake of course. As I informed my editor in my resignation retraction email, I'll let her off the hook this time, but she is to consider my now-retracted resignation letter as the first written warning from me; one or five more strikes and that's it, I will resign! But for now, I must humbly accept the tough reality that the local film industry needs me, as demonstrated by the changes you've made since my open letter of resignation was published. It is clear that you realised the gravity of the intellectual property theft that Trump's Ass engaged in by plagiarizing the State Capture storyline. When I read that you'd brought back 'Gupta-era minister Lynne Brown' to help the ANC with its Western Cape strategy, I knew you were pulling State Capture out of that Ass and bringing it back home where it belongs. With Brown's return the show, almost all the 'Gupta ministers' are back in play. Bravo!!! Her fellow Gupta ministers, Faith Muthambi and Malusi Gigaba, have long returned to Parliament as ANC MPs. We still await former mines minister Mosebenzi Zwane's return, but hopefully it won't be much longer now, Sass always delivers. I feared we'd lose Faith Muthambi forever a couple of seasons ago when the Zondo Commission found that 'she had abused her powers in a number of instances. In these circumstances, the finding to make is that Ms Muthambi had unlawfully (shared) that confidential information with the Guptas and their associates. It was quite clear that she was doing so in order to talk to their friend, (then) President Zuma, to ensure that she had certain powers as Minister of Communications.' The Thloloe Commission on the other hand, came to the 'conclusion that Muthambi had abused her power to influence news coverage by the SABC'. Then of course there was that Sunday Times report about the R300,000 of public funds she spent on, among other things, flying 30 friends and family to her Budget speech. A little more than a year later, circa 2019, she ranked a lowly 79th on the ANC National Party List. Thankfully, the ANC has given her a few more government gigs since then, and even rewarded her with an appointment as a member of the ANC's influential National Disciplinary Committee. After taking a much needed 18-month sabbatical, in May last year she returned to her seat in the National Assembly, and is now ranked 38th on the ANC National Party List. What a legend!!! Please Sass writers, we need to hear more from this queen. Perhaps a spinoff show with the freshly returned Lynne Brown? A reality show? The Real House Ministers of the National Assembly? An upcoming film reviewer and ardent fan of Sass, Ferial Haffajee, recently made a good observation on these very pages: 'Brown was at the heart of the State Capture project as she enabled the Gupta network at Eskom, Transnet and Denel by using her position as the minister of public enterprises to influence board appointments at various state-owned companies, the commission of inquiry into State Capture found.' When Sassy met Assy in the Oval While I had my doubts about the recent 'Sass and Ass in the Oval' crossover special episode, I couldn't deny the brilliance of the Sass writers in that moment. Maestro Malema's rendition of a South African classic, beamed on screens worldwide; a truly outstanding and nuanced portrayal of the bittersweet taste of success. Here be Malema finally on top of the world, his name uttered by presidents and top golfers alike. Yet, as viewers we knew that this moment that he had long dreamt of reached him at his loneliest, abandoned by comrades, his face deserted by collagen. Is that not a perfect metaphor for life itself, that the moments we dream of and work towards never come in the neatly nationalised package we imagined. So much to think about. Still, another moment just as bittersweet: seated there in the Ass Oval opposite Trump was that dear John character; at the apotheosis of his career, finally a member of the ruling class; a moment beamed on screens all over the world. Alas, his president would soon reveal his role as little more than window-dressing to demonstrate to the world the country's ongoing commitment to its White Economic Empowerment programme (WEE). No sooner had he made peace with his role as a token, his aptitude for governance was questioned live in front of the world by the country's CEO, one very snitchy Mr Rupert. 'Mr Steenhuisen won't admit that he runs the Western Cape where I live, and the biggest murder rate is in the Cape Flats,' CEO Rupert snitched to literally millions of people. Why are CEOs always the biggest snitches?!? Meanwhile, as the maestro and the WEE beneficiary embraced these bittersweet moments in the global spotlight, one Ms Zille watched and wondered when her 'one moment in time, when I'm all that I thought I could be' — as the late great Whitney Houston sang — would come to fruition. She knew deep within her heart that it should be her up there on those screens, not some token. Never one to give up on a dream, be it trying out drag or Comedy Central roasts, she continues to pursue her 'one moment in time'. Rumour has it you guys might have a Joburg mayorship storyline lined up for her. Please give the poor thing her happy ending already, give her her moment, let her have that mayorship and let everything work out. Let her zeal fill every pothole. That said, beyond the return of State Capture, I'm quite captivated by this moving exploration of themes of aspiration, desperation and betrayal, as demonstrated by the rise and fall of Maestro Malema, and the insatiable appetite for the limelight that still consumes Septuagenarian Zille. I'm especially touched by the heartbreaking Steenhuisen storyline. While we may not have had the experience of the richest and most powerful men telling the whole world that we're the kind of WEE candidate who's not up to the job, I think many of us can relate to what it feels to always be reminded that nobody thinks you deserve your position in life. With such great writing and performances in the bag, I have no doubt the future of Sass is in safe hands. And that Ass can plagiarise all they want, they can even keep Sass's most crooked export, Mr Musk; but State Capture is surely coming back to its originators, the South Africa Sh*t Show, the Cradle of Crooked Kind. DM
Daily Maverick
09-06-2025
- Daily Maverick
Writing what it felt like — Barry Gilder on memory, movement and making art in the struggle
At the Fire Hour stands as both tribute and testimony, a quiet but insistent record of what it meant to survive the storm and to still want to sing. Barry Gilder's novel, At the Fire Hour, is a deeply layered reflection on loyalty, memory and what it costs to live a life split between political commitment and artistic longing. In the book, we meet Bheki Makhathini, a South African writer and exile suspected of betraying the ANC. Suspicion clings to him. Was he a sellout? A spy? This question is at the novel's quietly devastating core. Gilder uses this tension not only to explore personal betrayal but to reflect on the paranoia that haunted the liberation movement's underground networks. Like Gilder, Bheki is a young creative who leaves South Africa in 1976 and goes into exile. He completes a creative writing master's degree in the UK, undergoes military training in Angola and the Soviet Union and returns home after the unbanning of the ANC. His life and the novel become a meditation on the high stakes of political belonging. Fiction becomes a tool to wrestle with what it means to be doubted by your own comrades, and what is lost in that rupture. But this is not simply a political thriller. It is also a love story, a story of creative loss and an intimate sketch of exile. At the Fire Hour spans continents, mirroring the movement of activists scattered by apartheid. These spaces are rendered not as exotic backdrops, but as textured zones of struggle, reflection and belonging. Gilder, who lived through many of these dislocations, lends authenticity to these passages. Through Bheki's voice, he evokes the haunting uncertainty of displacement and the fragility of the revolutionary self. There's an important strand in the book on surveillance and the psychological toll of being under suspicion. The novel's emotional gravity lies not in action but in atmosphere: the loneliness of exile, the fragility of trust and the slow erosion of the self under constant doubt. Gilder does not absolve his characters easily. Instead, he allows the complexity of revolutionary life to settle in quietly, asking the reader to sit with uncertainty. One of the most arresting sequences in the novel explores the brutal techniques of interrogation: Bheki is forced to stand on a brick for five hours, deprived of sleep for two days and nights, subjected to electric shocks on his testicles. These methods are not described for sensational effect, but as part of a system designed to fracture belief, to extract not only information, but ideological collapse. Gilder documents how the body is targeted in the hope that the will might break, and how survival becomes a kind of guilt. In the aftermath of such violence, the doubts of comrades cut deeper. Was Bheki released because he cooperated? Or because they could not break him? The anguish of this experience crystallises in a poem written by Bheki, inserted into the novel: words do not slice skin shred flesh shatter bone dethrone dictators. This tension is echoed in the novel's interplay between art and politics. Bheki, like Gilder, is torn between creative expression and the imperatives of the struggle. 'The more I got involved in the struggle, the fewer songs I wrote,' Gilder told me. 'Things got really hectic… writing reports to Lusaka, moving from safe house to safe house. Wally Serote was writing a novel during that time. I wasn't. I haven't written a song since the 1980s.' Creativity became a casualty of the revolution. The silence was not chosen, but enforced by necessity. Yet in fiction, he rediscovers voice. The novel, which began as part of Gilder's PhD submission, is woven with poems and short stories written by Bheki, forming a narrative within a narrative. 'I kind of really enjoyed getting into his creative head,' Gilder said. 'It helps say things more concisely than one can in the narrative part of the book.' These insertions do more than embellish the story; they deepen it, giving texture to the private interiority that historical accounts so often flatten. At the Fire Hour is also a commentary on the cultural politics of the ANC in exile. Gilder vividly reconstructs events like the Culture and Resistance Conference in Gaborone and Culture in Another South Africa in Amsterdam. These were not peripheral events; they were sites where politics and creativity met, where resistance was choreographed through poems, music and song. Gilder was present at these gatherings. His fictionalisation of them pulses with insight and detail that only a participant could provide. What makes this novel essential is not simply its storytelling, but its function as a historical intervention. In a country still wrestling with the afterlives of struggle, Gilder insists on fiction's power to hold emotional truths that the archive cannot. 'Historians tell us what happened,' he said. 'Novelists tell us what it felt like.' This is not nostalgia. It is reckoning. The novel is a form of political memory work – an attempt to break the silence around suspicion, doubt and betrayal that was never truly resolved. By the end, the novel ceases to be about one man's guilt or innocence. It becomes something far more collective – a mosaic of those who made the movement, lived through exile and continue to carry its shadows. Gilder reminds us that the story of liberation is not just about triumph. It's about what it costs to keep going. At the Fire Hour stands as both tribute and testimony, a quiet but insistent record of what it meant to survive the storm and to still want to sing. DM
The Citizen
27-05-2025
- The Citizen
Top 10 stories of the day: RIP Presley Chweneyagae
Here's your daily news update for Tuesday, 27 May 2025: An easy-to-read selection of our top stories. In the news today, the late actor,Presley Chweneyagae, has been remembered by industry colleagues and fans of his work following the announcement of his death. Meanwhile, Gauteng police are searching for a man who uses the name John (pseudonym), believed to be linked to the murder a 30-year-old Olorato Mongale. Furthermore, President Cyril Ramaphosa faced tough questions in the National Assembly, including criticism of his United States (US) trip. Weather tomorrow: 28 May 2025 High winds and fire danger warnings in Western and Eastern Cape. Fine and cool weather with morning fog expected in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and Free State; windy in North West and Northern Cape. Full weather forecast here. Stay up to date with The Citizen – More News, Your Way. 'Working with Presley and keeping a straight face is almost impossible' — industry mourns Chweneyagae In an interview four years ago, renowned actor Presley Chweneyagae said he would retire at 40. 'I'll quit acting when I turn 40, and I won't be involved in the entertainment industry as I'll focus on different work and environment,' Chweneyagae told Daily Sun in 2021. Presley Chweneyagae, who was loved by many fans, died at the age of 40. Picture: @BafanaSurprise/X However, those words took on new meaning on Tuesday morning as South Africa woke up to the news of the actor's demise at 40. His management team, MLA, confirmed his passing. 'It is with profound sadness that we confirm the untimely passing of one of South Africa's most gifted and beloved actors, Presley Chweneyagae,' the statement read. CONTINUE READING: 'Working with Presley and keeping a straight face is almost impossible' — industry mourns Chweneyagae Police hunt alleged woman killer who uses the name of John Gauteng police are searching for a man who uses the name John (pseudonym), believed to be linked to the murder of a 30-year-old Johannesburg woman. According to police, Olorato Mongale was last seen on Monday went she went on a date with her 'alleged killer' who picked her up from her residential complex driving a white VW polo with cloned number plate that belong to a Toyota Hilux. The woman's body was found in less than two hours. Picture: Michel Bega Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said during investigations it emerged that the vehicle is fitted with fake registration number plates. The fake registration number plate is: LT 57 JG GP. 'The man fetched Olorato at her residential complex in Athol, Johannesburg, at around 3 pm on Sunday, 25 May 2025. He drove with the victim in the township of Alexandra, proceeded to Kew and between Alexandra and Lombardy West in Johannesburg, this man allegedly murdered Olorato and dumped her body.' CONTINUE READING: Police hunt alleged woman killer who uses the name of John Ramaphosa defends US trip amid economic criticism during Q&A President Cyril Ramaphosa faced tough questions in the National Assembly, including criticism of his United States (US) trip, his government's failure to curb the rising cost of living, slow economic growth and the high unemployment rate in South Africa. Ramaphosa responded to questions from members of the National Assembly on Tuesday, with economic growth and the cost of living among the issues for deliberation. President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Nieuwmeester Dome in Cape Town on 13 February 2025. Picture: Gallo Images/Jeffrey Abrahams EFF Treasurer-General Omphile Maotwe criticised the government for not achieving the projected economic growth. 'We saw you taking a trip to the US last week, and we are asking ourselves what economic strategy and economic interventions you are trying to lock in,' she asked. Ramaphosa said that the primary aim of his trip was to restore the deteriorating relationship between South Africa and the emphasised the significance of both countries in each other's economies and their political relations. CONTINUE READING: Ramaphosa defends US trip amid economic criticism during Q&A Remembering Darren Scott: A radio man's radio man There are thousands of kind words that can be said about Darren Scott. He was a friend to many, a smoke break partner of note, and a broadcaster like few others. He was also a doting dad and, with his charity One Wingz of Change, impacted lives well beyond his immediate and extended circle. Late radio veteran Darren Scott . Picture: OFM Darren Scott, who passed away at 61 after battling stage 4 melanoma cancer for decades, will be sorely missed on the airwaves by friends and colleagues. Sometimes, just knowing that he's on the other end of a WhatsApp message meant a lot to many. CONTINUE READING: Remembering Darren Scott: A radio man's radio man Bus driver monitored by police after fatal bridge plunge in KZN The driver of a bus that plunged more than 50 metres from a bridge near Tongaat, killing three people and injuring twelve others, is alive and being monitored by police in hospital as authorities investigate potential criminal charges including murder. Speaking to the media at the scene, KwaZulu-Natal Transport MEC Siboniso Duma revealed that the driver survived Tuesday morning's devastating crash on the R102 near Maidstone Sugar Mill and is receiving medical treatment while under police supervision. The wrangled remains of the bus. Picture: IPSS Medical Rescue. The bus was fully loaded with passengers when it careened off the Maidstone Road bridge in what preliminary investigations suggest may have been caused by brake failure. Duma indicated that authorities are exploring serious criminal charges against the driver, moving beyond typical culpable homicide charges to potentially more severe penalties. CONTINUE READING: Bus driver monitored by police after fatal bridge plunge in KZN Here are five more stories of the day: Yesterday's News recap READ HERE: Top 10 stories of the day: MK party threatens Starlink gazette | Six die in shack fire | Fuel levy pain
