In this episode of This Is Politics, Justice Malala and Mondli Makhanya unpack a turbulent political week in South Africa. They examine the ANC’s upcoming National General Council and question whether it has any real value in shaping policy or strengthening leadership, especially as internal succession battles intensify. The discussion moves to the South African Communist Party’s threat to break away from the ANC, exploring the history of the alliance, the reality of the SACP’s influence, and why a split could leave both organisations weaker. The episode also looks at the assassination of witness Marius van der Merwe, who was killed shortly after testifying in the Majanga Inquiry. Justice and Mondli discuss South Africa’s long‑standing crisis of political and criminal assassinations, the state’s failure to protect whistleblowers, and the entrenched networks of organized crime. The episode concludes with a reflection on South Africa’s stalled National Development Plan, the failures of cadre deployment, and the broader collapse of a capable state, raising the question of what genuine state reform would require