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"title": "Military vets leader who took two ministers and a deputy minister hostage works for eThekwini Municipality",
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"description": "Daily Maverick is an independent online news publication and weekly print newspaper in South Africa.\r\n\r\nIt is known for breaking some of the defining stories of South Africa in the past decade, including the Marikana Massacre, in which the South African Police Service killed 34 miners in August 2012.\r\n\r\nIt also investigated the Gupta Leaks, which won the 2019 Global Shining Light Award.\r\n\r\nThat investigation was credited with exposing the Indian-born Gupta family and former President Jacob Zuma for their role in the systemic political corruption referred to as state capture.\r\n\r\nIn 2018, co-founder and editor-in-chief Branislav ‘Branko’ Brkic was awarded the country’s prestigious Nat Nakasa Award, recognised for initiating the investigative collaboration after receiving the hard drive that included the email tranche.\r\n\r\nIn 2021, co-founder and CEO Styli Charalambous also received the award.\r\n\r\nDaily Maverick covers the latest political and news developments in South Africa with breaking news updates, analysis, opinions and more.",
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"contents": "<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has confirmed that Lwazi Mzobe, spokesperson for the newly established Liberation Struggle War Veterans, which sprung up when the MK Military Veterans Association was disbanded as an ANC structure, is employed by the eThekwini Municipality.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mzobe was the leader of the vets who first staged a sleep-in at the ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters this week and who then took Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele and Deputy Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thabang Makwetla hostage at the St George's Hotel on Thursday.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They were rescued at 2am by the Special Task Force, which is headed by General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. The same force was deployed to Nkandla in July when the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma escalated into a national security risk. </span>\r\n\r\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1069111\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/OD-ferial-analysis-Luthulihouse2-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1487\" /> A general view of Saint George's Hotel. (Photo by Gallo Images/Lee Warren)</p>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mzobe has represented the Liberation Struggle War Veterans all week on radio and television interviews, complaining that vets are sleeping rough and have been left destitute. The group demanded R2.2-million each in reparations, among other measures, and barricaded the doors at the lodge, demanding that Deputy President David Mabuza meet with them. Mabuza leads the Presidential Task Team on Military Veterans.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gungubele issued a video explainer in which he looked shocked at what had happened. </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span>\r\n\r\nhttps://twitter.com/presidencyza/status/1448758954591494146?s=12\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brigadier Vish Naidoo of Natjoints (a security structure of senior police, intelligence and defence officials) said 56 people had been arrested and they faced at least three counts of kidnapping. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Liberation movement veterans are cared for by the Department of Military Veterans which has a budget of R654-million this year to cover their grants, pensions, upskilling and medical care. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many veterans, like Mzobe, work in the public sector. He is a writer at the municipality, Tehekwini Council Spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela confirmed to Daily Maverick on Friday morning. These positions </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are well paid with public-sector benefits including medical care, study grants and housing allowances. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whistle-blowers from the ANC found that several eThekwini council employees helped organise the July looting and violence, as reported </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-08-04-good-party-sends-explosive-evidence-to-hawks-unit-of-26-individuals-directly-implicated-in-sas-july-unrest/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mzobe denied the two ministers and deputy minister had been taken hostage, although the government and police labelled it a hostage event. </span><b>DM</b>",
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"name": "A general view of the Saint George Hotel and Conference Centre. About 56 people were arrested at the hotel on 14 October 2021 after a group of military veterans allegedly held several government ministers hostage. (Photo by Gallo Images/Lee Warren)",
"description": "<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daily Maverick</span></i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has confirmed that Lwazi Mzobe, spokesperson for the newly established Liberation Struggle War Veterans, which sprung up when the MK Military Veterans Association was disbanded as an ANC structure, is employed by the eThekwini Municipality.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mzobe was the leader of the vets who first staged a sleep-in at the ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters this week and who then took Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele and Deputy Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thabang Makwetla hostage at the St George's Hotel on Thursday.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They were rescued at 2am by the Special Task Force, which is headed by General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. The same force was deployed to Nkandla in July when the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma escalated into a national security risk. </span>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1069111\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"2560\"]<img class=\"size-full wp-image-1069111\" src=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/OD-ferial-analysis-Luthulihouse2-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1487\" /> A general view of Saint George's Hotel. (Photo by Gallo Images/Lee Warren)[/caption]\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mzobe has represented the Liberation Struggle War Veterans all week on radio and television interviews, complaining that vets are sleeping rough and have been left destitute. The group demanded R2.2-million each in reparations, among other measures, and barricaded the doors at the lodge, demanding that Deputy President David Mabuza meet with them. Mabuza leads the Presidential Task Team on Military Veterans.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gungubele issued a video explainer in which he looked shocked at what had happened. </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> </span>\r\n\r\nhttps://twitter.com/presidencyza/status/1448758954591494146?s=12\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brigadier Vish Naidoo of Natjoints (a security structure of senior police, intelligence and defence officials) said 56 people had been arrested and they faced at least three counts of kidnapping. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Liberation movement veterans are cared for by the Department of Military Veterans which has a budget of R654-million this year to cover their grants, pensions, upskilling and medical care. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many veterans, like Mzobe, work in the public sector. He is a writer at the municipality, Tehekwini Council Spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela confirmed to Daily Maverick on Friday morning. These positions </span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are well paid with public-sector benefits including medical care, study grants and housing allowances. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whistle-blowers from the ANC found that several eThekwini council employees helped organise the July looting and violence, as reported </span><a href=\"https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-08-04-good-party-sends-explosive-evidence-to-hawks-unit-of-26-individuals-directly-implicated-in-sas-july-unrest/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here</span></a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mzobe denied the two ministers and deputy minister had been taken hostage, although the government and police labelled it a hostage event. </span><b>DM</b>",
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A general view of Saint George's Hotel. (Photo by Gallo Images/Lee Warren)