Who can stop the rot?

Abstract

It is fitting that the first article in this issue of South African Crime Quarterly (SACQ) speaks to the South African Police Service’s tackling of commercial crime. It is increasingly clear that corporate–political collusion poses a serious threat to South Africa’s democratic gains. In recent months journalists have started to pick through a trove of emails released in June, known as the #GuptaLeaks. In the process they have connected the dots between tens of thousands of exchanges among the notorious Gupta business family, management of parastatals, governmentministers and allies of President Jacob Zuma, including his son Duduzane. The emails paint a terrifying picture of state capture and abuse.