The Department of Journalism at Stellenbosch University (SU) will celebrate World Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, with a talk by Pieter-Louis Myburgh, award winning journalist, SU alumnus and author of the recently published bestseller, Gangster State, as well as launch journalism honours students’ publication on the upcoming general elections (Lip).
The theme of Mr Myburgh’s talk is the state of press freedom in South Africa in the context of investigative journalism.
The event take places at 1pm in room 230, Arts and Social Sciences building, Ryneveld Street, Stellenbosch.
Mr Myburgh’s second book, Gangster State, follows the success of his first published book, The Republic of Gupta.
In Gangster State, Mr Myburgh ventures deeper than ever before into Ace Magashule’s past, from his time as a struggle activist in the 1980s to his powerful rule as premier of the Free State province for nearly a decade, and his rise to one of the ANC’s most influential positions.
According to Mr Myburgh’s publisher, he (Myburgh) sifted through heaps of records, documents and exclusive source interviews to explore Magashule’s relationship with the notorious Gupta family and other tender moguls; he investigated “government projects costing billions”; revealed how he was ‘about to be arrested by the Scorpions before their
disbandment in the late 2000s” and he exposed the “methods used to keep him (Magashule) in power
in the Free State and to secure
him the post of ANC secretary-general”.
The event is open to the public, but people should RSVP to Elizabeth Newman by Friday April 26 at lnewman@sun.ac.za
For more information, contact Carryn-Ann Nel at 021 808 2577 or carrynann@sun.ac.za
