Zondo at Your Fingertips: The Definitive Guide to the Zondo Commission by Paul Holden is out in May from Jacana Media!

The Zondo Commission:

400 days of hearings. Over 300 witnesses called. 3171 summonses issued. Transcripts running to 75,069 pages. 1,731,106 pages of documentary evidence submitted in public hearings. 8,655,530 pages printed for public hearings purposes. One petabyte of data, equal to 1,000 terabytes, or 1,000,000 gigabytes, collected and retained by the Commission. 19 volumes of findings totalling 4,750 pages.

R57 billion spent on Gupta related contracts.

R16 billion scored by the Guptas in kickbacks and dodgy deals.

The cost to the country: immense.

The damage: ongoing.

The Zondo Commission’s reports and findings are fundamental to understanding South Africa’s past and future – but their length and intensity may leave them largely unread. Paul Holden unpacks the Commission’s findings, condensing its narratives and demystifying legal language to make the Commission’s work accessible to all. Holden is well placed to do this as he gave detailed evidence to the Commission on the hard evidence of State Capture – when, where and how the money flowed, and how much it all cost the people of South Africa.

About the book

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 the 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.

About the author

Paul Holden has spent the last 15 years exposing grand corruption, beginning with the Arms Deal, and has written five bestselling books on South African and global politics and corruption. Holden is Director of Investigations at Shadow World Investigations, which he co-founded with his long-time colleague Andrew Feinstein.

Categories Non-fiction South Africa South African Current Affairs

Tags Jacana Media New books New releases Paul Holden Zondo at Your Fingertips Zondo Commission