The Plot Thickens...
So the SACP fraudgate is getting murkier and murkier. Blade was on the offensive last week when he said that he never took the R500 000:

"I wish to place it on record that I have never received the alleged R500 000 from any person, as is alleged. As the SACP has said, this is part of a concerted smear campaign primarily directed at discrediting the image and reputation of the SACP and tarnishing my image and integrity," Nzimande said in a statement.

Now Cosatu president Willie Madisha yesterday stated:

"I wish to emphasise the point that yes, I received the R500 000 and handed the same to Nzimande. I am willing to stand in front of a court and the Communist Party and prove what happened."

This was alleged to have happened a few years ago, a point picked up by SACP chairperson Gwede Mantashe, who rebutted:

"Madisha sat on the information for more than five years and did not disclose to the party that it had not received intended funds. He didn't come to the structures in his own party, but went public -- I think that is bordering on hypocrisy."

It's notable though that Mantashe is just having a crack at Madisha for being hypocritical, there's no flat denial on Nzimande's guilt there. So where does that leave us? Well, now the real investigation begins, but the stakes are high. The two labour parties of the tri-partite alliance pitted against each other in a battle for credibility at the highest level. Cosatu has much to gain by a demotion of the SACP in the tri-partite ranks; the SACP has a fight for redemption. Conspiracy hangs in the air, but there's a real outcome that this is just simple criminality. I'll keep you up to date...