South Africa is no stranger to corruption. In fact, the two know one another rather well. The previous presidential administration had ties with the infamous Gupta family, who famously kept SA hostage while plundering and pillaging – and silencing observers with pay-offs or threats. Of course, it’s unfair to single out two of the many. Ace Magashule, myriad SOE execs and business people have all had allegations hurled at them, accusing them of one corrupt act or another. Unfortunately, due to our captured legal system, bringing them to book has not been easy. There are so many aspects to corruption in South Africa, one of which is “cadre deployment”. Below, Terence Corrigan unpacks what he refers to as “the original state capture”. – Jarryd Neves