Johannesburg - Sandton City was the scene of chaos and disorder as protesters disrupted the Johannesburg launch of Pieter-Louis Myburgh's new book: Gangster State: Unravelling Ace Magashule’s Web of Capture.
The launch was set to take place at Exclusive Books on Tuesday evening but this was disrupted by a group of disgruntled protesters, who stormed the store singing songs in support of Magashule.
Security was soon dispatched to remove the protesters, some clad in ANC regalia, who refused to leave the bookstore and instead could be seen tearing out pages from the book.
Penguin Random House SA shared videos and pictures of the chaos and disorder on their Twitter page.
The angry protesters told eNCA they decided to protest against the "propaganda" perpetuated against ANC members.
Protestors getting more worked up, shouting at customers and attendees at launch that they must “Go! Go! Why are you prosecuting Ace Magashule? They can’t call us (k-word) anymore, now they call us corrupt!” #AceMagashule #GangsterState @PLMyburgh pic.twitter.com/4TivfP40sS
— Penguin Books SA (@PenguinBooksSA) April 9, 2019
Stratcom posters coming out #AceMagashule #GangsterState @PLMyburgh pic.twitter.com/ijZisweYoz
— Penguin Books SA (@PenguinBooksSA) April 9, 2019
There’s nothing more interesting than a protested Book. Well done ANC for promoting #GangsterState... you played yourself 🤦🏽♀️😂🙃💀 pic.twitter.com/LSf9C4037q
— uNdlunkulu Xoli 👑 (@uNdlunkulu_Xoli) April 9, 2019
"We've grown tired of all the propaganda perpetuated against Africans, in particular those who come from the ANC," one protester said.
Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo confirmed the demonstration to IOL, saying no arrests had been made and that the store has since been closed.
Tuesday evening's protest comes after the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) Free State announced plans to burn copies of the book, which they labelled as "puke".
According to
, the burning will take place at a dumping site in Mangaung next week Monday and invited the public to join in.
Magashule himself has threatened legal action against Myburgh following the release of the book, which exposes a corruption ring he is alleged to have headed in the Free State during his tenure as premier.
Myburgh writes that Magashule demanded 10% kickbacks from business people in exchange for securing lucrative contracts from the provincial administration.