PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Buying branches, assassins, fake news — things can get ugly in ANC
The outcome of the party’s December’s elective conference can be decided by things that happen out of sight
We follow the ANC leadership campaign like a horse race, setting the odds on every candidate, working out who is wearing blinkers and who carries a handicap. We get excited when one pulls ahead, worried when the other catches up and keep a wary eye on the outsiders gathering pace from behind. But like most horse races, this one may be decided by things that happen out of sight. Here are four megatrends that you should be watching — and worrying about — if you want to understand what could shape or distort the outcome of the presidential race at the ANC’s elective conference in December. • A University of Cape Town-based research project has recorded 255 political assassinations since 2000, part of a general pattern of targeted killing on the rise. In 2016, assassinations that could be identified as politically motivated hit a peak of 27 (one every fortnight) and taxi killings hit 56. The taxi killings are relevant because they have created an industry of killers for hire, which mean...
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