The #GuptaLeaks are a massive trove of information made up of hundreds of gigabytes of documents and emails obtained by a team of journalists from the Daily Maverick's investigative unit, Scorpio, Amabhungane and News24. The latest episode of the #Guptaleaks looks at the captured individuals close to South African President Jacob Zuma.

We hear Dubai can be a bit fired up this time of year, so we thought you’d appreciate the opportunity to chill with us in the Mother City. It’d be amazing to host the three of you at a Gathering we’re putting on in Cape Town’s CTICC on 3 August. It’s not quite the Sun City “event of the Millennium” wedding scale, but still, it’s in your honour. Kind of.

A little lost? As the leaks get leakier, the details remain important: one day, if or when South Africa is blessed with a National Director of Public Prosecutions with even the vaguest interest in doing his or her job, there will be many people to charge for many different activities. But there is a larger, meta story at play here: the #GuptaLeaks themselves reveal how a particular democratic dispensation (mis)functions during capitalism’s end of days: everything in our lives is subject to a longstanding collaboration between governments and corporations, a bromance that has created societies far more dystopian than any sci-fi thriller could have posited, Blade Runner’s Tyrell Corporation notwithstanding. By RICHARD POPLAK.

The story of the R30-million pension bonanza granted to Eskom’s former CEO Brian Molefe is one of greed and mismanagement. Last week Scorpio revealed how officials lied, schemed and defrauded the public in order to allow Molefe a pension calculated as if he had ten years' service at Eskom and worked there for 156 months. In reality Molefe contributed 15 months’ pension payments to the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund with the cash-strapped Eskom picking up the tab for the shortfall. This while Molefe wasn’t eligible to be a fund member to start with. But wait, there’s more: Based on another series of leaked emails, Scorpio can reveal that by a sleight of hand the tax man was scammed out of R1,3-million. By PAULI VAN WYK.

President Jacob Zuma’s top bodyguard and head of the presidential protection service (PPS) unit received a significant cash payment from a supplier of blue lights to the unit to purchase a house in an upmarket golf estate. By Pieter-Louis Myburgh and Lionel Faull for NEWS24, SCORPIO & AMABHUNGANE.

Wonderkop. Wonder hill. Is it any wonder that this farm, which houses the koppie where 34 miners were killed in the greatest state-sanctioned massacre of South Africans since Sharpeville, is subject to a land claim? Yup, the claim, which has been in effect since 1997, received a shot of legal adrenalin on 5 July 2017. Will the whole stinking edifice that surrounds Lonmin and the Bapo Ba Mogale traditional authority now come tumbling down, or will our government step in to save it? By KEVIN BLOOM.

Daily Maverick does not normally republish statements but the behaviour of people linked to Black First Land First (BLF) on Thursday night at the amaBhungane town discussion, “Inside the #GuptaLeaks”, requires that we break with traditional practice. This is amaBhungane's full statement.

It is not entirely impossible that the Gupta family will once again be central to the political discussion at this weekend’s ANC lekgotla. It seems that just about everybody in the ANC, with the exception of perhaps presidential son Edward Zuma, now agrees that the family is no good for the party’s image. With this little bump in the road taken care of, what was it that Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa was on about again? By CARIEN DU PLESSIS.

Eskom chief financial officer Anoj Singh has been suspended, finally. Now he must be held criminally accountable. By GREG NICOLSON.

ANC MP Dr Makhosi Khoza has been the target of numerous death threats lately. Find out who she is and why she is watching her back in this pilot episode of POLITICALLY AWEH.

It also has a sinister provision that will make it easier for State Security to undermine privacy and freedom. By Murray Hunter and Alison Tilley for GROUNDUP.

When ANC founder, Pixley ka Isaka Seme, was elected President General at the organisation’s 1930 elective conference, the party was in crisis, deeply divided with confrontational factions vying for power. In the lead-up to the ANC’s elective conference in December this year, Dr Bongani Ngqulunga’s recently-published biography of Seme not only offers fascinating insights into the complex, controversial and colourful life of this South African pioneer but also the ANC and the political contestation that has always bedevilled the party. By MARIANNE THAMM.

If Kabila is allowed to continue his charade, it’s the Congolese people who will pay the price. By Stephanie W0lters for ISS TODAY.

SARS finds it necessary to address the unsubstantiated tone that “things are falling” and the alleged IT systemic glitch that resulted in disappearance of documents. By SARS spokesperson SANDILE MEMELA.

J. BROOKS SPECTOR watches a film on an iconic Japanese woodblock print and begins to think about the waves washing over America’s (and the world’s) political, social and economic systems. And worries about whether or not we all will be swamped in the process.

The fall-out between the Gulf states is exacerbating tensions in the Horn of Africa against the background of growing Middle East involvement in the region. By PETER FABRICIUS.

Senate passes sanctions on Russia, Iran launches rocket, and Apple drops iPod models.

There is a shortage of hospital beds in the Eastern Cape for inmates with mental illness. By Ashleigh Furlong for GROUNDUP.

The revelations contained in the #GuptaLeaks emails may give the impression that everyone the Guptas encountered rolled over to do their bidding – either through pressure from above, or a desire for personal enrichment. Happily, this was not the case. Throughout the emails there is evidence of people who stood up to the Guptas or thwarted their intentions in some way. We take a look at some of those who held the line. By SCORPIO & AMABHUNGANE.

Trump transgender ban causes confusion, Facebook posts record profits, and antibiotic course prescriptions "all wrong".

On Wednesday the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal said it had decided to institute disciplinary charges against ANC Member of Parliament Makhosi Khoza, who has achieved a measure of fame by speaking out against President Jacob Zuma. These charges were almost inevitable. But the fact they have now been instituted presents the party’s disciplinary machinery with a complicated situation. At the same time, Khoza herself appears to have exhibited some slightly strange behaviour. The ANC is running the risk, once again, of being seriously divided because of Zuma. By STEPHEN GROOTES

Sadly, J. BROOKS SPECTOR must turn his attention yet again to the roiling turmoil in Washington in an effort to gain some measure of Donald Trump’s mettle in adversity. Less than pretty.

In many countries anti-government forces, militias and guerrilla operatives are prosecuted at the end of war, but one country has negotiated a deal that may see these people fulfil an unusual role during its transition to peace. A peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces, FARC has opened the door for research in areas that were previously too volatile and isolated to be studied. By TUNICIA PHILLIPS.

Hennie broke story after story, page one lead after page one lead, from 1963 to 1975, when the Sunday Times’ impact was at its pre-television peak. His stories shattered cabinet ministers' diaries. He would disclose planned secret Broederbond meetings, with times, dates and venues, and they would have to cancel and reschedule. RIP, Hennie. You made a BIG difference. By JOHN MATISONN

Former finance minister Pravin Gordhan and his former deputy Mcebisi Jonas railed against state capture on Wednesday, calling on citizens to take a stand to protect state institutions and economic damage that could take a decade to repair. By GREG NICOLSON.

The ANC mid-year lekgotla after Thursday’s one-day National Executive Committee (NEC) comes some two weeks after its national policy conference, where unity was touted the winner despite internal fractures. It also comes in the wake of persistent, economic turmoil. It’s a key moment in troubling times. With the governing ANC sticking to its economic policy path that seems to meander in the gloom, the question remains whether it can change gear in the interest of South Africa? Or will it be kicking for touch until after the December elective national conference in the hope of a breather in internal political tumult of factional jockeying for leadership? By MARIANNE MERTEN.

Chester Bennington knew his demons well. Somehow, he still ended up in the worst part of a bad neighbourhood. His death illustrates that we have a long way to go to ensuring that treatment for those who struggle must be holistic and consistent. By ANTOINETTE MULLER.

Trillian Capital Partners has reached an agreement with Trillian Holdings, which is wholly owned by Gupta associate Salim Essa, to sell its shares in the company. By DAILY MAVERICK

A Somali has been denied parole as he is unable to renew documentation. By Tariro Washinyira for GROUNDUP.

Abuses in the name of counter-terrorism mean the US and Africa will probably lose the war on terror. By Simon Allison For ISS TODAY.

The Western Cape government has proposed to rezone the Somerset Hospital Precinct. It will be used for both businesses and homes. But activists say it's not enough. By Natalie Pertsovsky for GROUNDUP.

Several disinformation websites registered this year to promote the “white monopoly capital” (WMC) narrative have been traced to a web design and online reputation management company in India. By NEWS24

Republicans pass Obamacare repeal debate vote, Apple to expand roots in USA, and brain damage rife in the NFL.

Launching the 2017 tax season at the start of July newly-ensconced Minister of Finance Malusi Gigaba urged South African taxpayers to “pay to Caesar what is due to Caesar”. This week SARS announced that due to technical glitches, crucial documents filed by employers and taxpayers need to be refiled. It seems Commissioner Tom Moyane’s SARS restructuring chickens are coming home to roost. By MARIANNE THAMM.

Less than a year after black pupils at Pretoria High School for Girls revealed how they were forced to chemically straighten their hair and not have “untidy” afros, another Gauteng school, Windsor House Academy in Kempton Park, has forced several girls out of class because their braided or dreadlocked hair was deemed “inappropriate”. Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi is having none it. By PUSELETSO NTHATE.

Some in the upper echelons of the ANC Women’s League have cried foul about Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu dissing them for constructing their campaign for the ANC’s first woman president entirely and exclusively around herself. Now, for the first time in the history of the 105-year-old former liberation movement, three women are seriously vying for the top spot. But is anybody taking them seriously? By CARIEN DU PLESSIS.

Parliament’s public enterprises committee is inching towards its inquiry into Eskom’s dodgy procurement dealings, state capture and governance troubles including Brian Molefe’s controversial return as chief executive. At its preparatory meeting on Tuesday, MPs heard from the South African Council of Churches (SACC) about its Unburdening Report, the academic research collective on state capacity and Outa (Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse). What emerged wasn’t necessarily new, but clearly sketched a scenario of the systematic weakening of the state and its entities to facilitate the enrichment of a few. Parliament can no longer say it didn’t know. By MARIANNE MERTEN.

It is imperative that students and staff are made fully aware of the policies in place to protect them and even more important that the members of the offices and task forces set up specifically to manage sexual violence are clear on what those policies are and how to adequately put them into practice. It is also important that the complaints of survivors are taken into account and are at the forefront of any changes made to the universities’ policies. By KIRSTEN WHITFIELD.

Wayde van Niekerk and Akani Simbine’s camaraderie with their omitted team-mates sends a strong message to South Africa’s sporting admin: stop your nonsense, we’re sick of the way you treat us. And South African sport sure could do with more of it. By ANTOINETTE MULLER.

There is understandable pleasure that opponents of state capture derive from the revelations in the #Guptaleaks, providing confirmation of various studies and reports and the massive profits that have accrued. Embarrassing as this may be it may be premature to conclude that the Guptas and Zuma are on the way out, especially in the light of the failure of any law enforcement agencies to investigate, as far as is publicly known. There needs to be serious consideration of what can be done to remedy the failure of institutions meant to safeguard constitutionalism. This is urgent in that state capture - being systemic - can persist even if Zuma were to depart. By RAYMOND SUTTNER.

Claims of anti-semitism in affordable housing campaign are “totally baseless and silly”, says activist. By Moira Levy for GROUNDUP.

Last week, UNAids issued optimistic news about the progress towards the 90-90-90 goals. Not so fast, says MSF and other research bodies – progress is a double-edged sword. By MARELISE VAN DER MERWE.

Proposed changes to South Africa’s immigration laws may prevent refugees and asylum seekers from permanently settling in the country, according to the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town. But it will be easier for SADC residents to work in South Africa. By Natalie Pertsovsky for GROUNDUP.

Company says some households haven’t paid rent for a year, while residents say they can’t afford increases. By Ashleigh Furlong for GROUNDUP.

A second German multinational, Software AG, has been caught red-handed entering questionable commission agreements with a Gupta-controlled company in the hope of securing lucrative state contracts. A company that manufactures billboards and a letterbox consulting company also stood to rake in millions. By AMABHUNGANE, SCORPIO and NEWS24.

Over the weekend Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu officially “launched” her campaign to take over from President Jacob Zuma as the leader of the ANC. It is a campaign that marks a serious change from what we’ve seen in the party before. She appears to be confident of her chances, and seems to be proclaiming that she wants the Number One spot. But, despite her political career and achievements, there are numerous political problems in her path. Foremost among them is the political traffic jam at the top of the “Anti-Zuma” slate that is being assembled for December. By STEPHEN GROOTES.

The Traditional Courts Bill is back. Resuscitated in the National Assembly in January after two previous defeats, its purpose is to provide a legislative framework for the courts of traditional leaders and to encourage that their functioning be consistent with constitutional principles. By NYASHA KARIMAKWENDA and PHILILE NTULI.

Community remains split over reblocking and several leaders have been arrested for public violence. By Thembela Ntongana for GroundUp.

For the fifth year in a row, South Africa is set to record a grisly killing rate of more than 1,000 rhinos poached each year (nearly three rhinos each day).The latest statistics – the first official information released by government in six months – show that at least 529 rhinos have been killed by horn poachers nationwide between January and the end of June. Should this killing rate continue unchecked, the final death toll for the year is expected to reach over 1,050 rhinos – almost identical to last year. By TONY CARNIE.