With less than four weeks to go until South Africans vote in a general election, corruption scandals again threaten to tear open old rivalries within the long-governing African National Congress.
After 25 years in power, widespread graft allegations have tainted the ruling party, which forced out shamed former president Jacob Zuma last year.
Despite his replacement President Cyril Ramaphosa vowing to tackle corruption, new claims about the moral rot at the heart of Nelson Mandela’s party have emerged.
The latest in the firing line is the ANC’s Secretary General Ace Magashule, a key Zuma ally.
A recent book entitled “Gangster State: Unravelling Ace Magashule’s Web of Capture” claims he was at the centre of a scheme to loot millions from state coffers for his own financial gain.
Magashule immediately denounced the allegations as lies, stating: “I am not corrupt.”
The party also quickly dismissed the book as “propaganda” and part of a “vicious character assassination campaign” ahead of the May 8 election.