I have never heard so much ado about nothing as in the case of the Derek Hanekom accusations last week.

A quick refresher, in case you missed it: Julius Malema, undoubtedly sensing that the EFF and Public Protector were going to lose their case against Pravin Gordhan, stood outside the High Court in Johannesburg and in his oh-so-Julius way announced that Derek Hanekom had had meetings with members of the EFF in 2017 before the secret no-confidence ballot against Jacob Zuma in Parliament.

When asked about it, Hanekom, in his characteristic straightforward and upfront manner, confirmed that a meeting had taken place. A few hours later Ace Magashule, undoubtedly desperate for some distraction from the Estina dairy project revelations at the Zondo commission, issued a statement.

"The African National Congress is dismayed by its National Executive Committee Member Derik (sic) Hanekom's confession that he did had (sic) several meetings with the opposition EFF," the statement read before it launched into a vicious personal attack on Hanekom…