Zondo at Your Fingertips

The Zondo Commission of Inquiry was one of the most important political developments in modern South African history. The commission sat for years, hearing the evidence of 300 witnesses and gathering a vast quantity of documents. The result is a damning and sometimes searing account of state take over: how the Gupta family found willing acolytes in the state, and set about systematically looting the country and destroying institutions of democracy. There is little doubt that understanding South Africa’s political history, its current malaise and its political future requires an understanding of the commission’s work. The commission’s final findings, however, run to over 5 000 pages. Reading all of this material is a daunting and overwhelming task for even the most dedicated citizen. Zondo at your Fingertips solves this problem. In straightforward and accessible language, author Paul Holden sets out the work of the commission, its findings and recommendations. Holden is well placed to do so: he gave evidence before the Zondo Commission over multiple days, tracing the ways in which the Gupta family captured and looted. Zondo at your Fingertips summarises concisely each volume of the commission’s final findings, and communicates the commission’s sometimes complex legal discussions clearly and candidly. But Holden does not just summarise: he also evaluates the commission’s findings, highlighting the good, the bad and the ugly of it’s work. In so doing, he points to stones left unturned, leads that must be followed and warnings to heed.

Paul Holden has spent the last 15 years exposing grand corruption, starting with the Arms Deal. Paul has written five books on South Africa and global politics. He appeared multiple times before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry to testify about how much money was stolen through state capture, and how this money was laundered around the world. Paul is currently Director of Investigations at Shadow World Investigations, which he co-founded with his long-time colleague Andrew Feinstein. One of Paul’s earlier books, The Arms Deal In Your Pocket, was an instant bestseller, and as with the Zondo Commission, Paul made submissions to the Seriti Arms Commission which investigated corruption in the Arms Deal. Finally, the book’s unique analysis of apartheid military culture shows how South Africa’s military units were far from monolithic and instead developed distinctive institutional practices, mythologies and concepts of militarised masculinity.

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