DAVID MAIMELA: State capture and its discontents: What lies ahead for SA? opinion The conversation about the state and future of South Africa is highly strained and fractured. The reason is simple: the politics have evolved to a point where the transition to a new South Africa has been cast anew by experience rather than the aspirations of the early post-1994 period. One of those strained conversations to have today is around the distinction between the concept and practice of ‘state capture’ on the one hand, and ‘corruption’ on the other. According to the dominant narrative, there is no distinction or necessity to see the nuances between each of the concepts. Mainstream media and general public discourse have taken it as a given that the two concepts are, in fact, the same. Nothing can be further from the truth.