Magashule claims explosive book is fake news. I’d bet against him.

My first exposure to ANC politician Ace Magashule's stinky dealings came in mid-2012 when JSE-listed Sanyati Holdings went bust. A year earlier Sanyati had popped up while investigating a controversial R164m tender in my then home province of KZN. Sanyati CEO Malcolm Lobban emerged as a man with integrity.

With that background, there was no reason to doubt Lobban's word when, in 2012, he claimed Sanyati's bankruptcy was the result of corruption and incompetence by the Free State provincial government. It simply refused to pay R40m owed to Sanyati, destroying the company, 2,500 jobs and millions of investor rands. Magashule was then the Free State premier.

Judging by Pieter-Louis Myburgh's new book on a man who has since risen to ANC secretary general, the Sanyati scam was small beer compared with what Magashule moved on to. The politician says it's all fake news, claiming to be considering his legal options. My experience shows if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…

Publisher Penguin Books hasn't thrived for more than 80 years in a tough industry by exposing itself to libellous law suits. I'd bet a month's salary Penguin's lawyers have double checked every word in Myburgh's overnight best seller. The real question is whether Magashule falls on his sword. Or will need to be ejected.