“If you’re a regular on social media, you’ll have detected a concerning swing towards content that pushes the boundaries of what is morally acceptable. Among the most repugnant are videos in which online ‘celebrities’ not only glorify violence but often incite it, too. It’s no surprise that the narcissistic quest for clicks and follows has descended into base criminality.” – John Webb, Executive Producer
Metro Centre Mayhem
Hundreds of thousands of building plans lie flung into corners and tumble haphazardly from shelves inside Johannesburg’s condemned Metro Centre. They’re effectively lost – and that means not only the erasure of priceless heritage, but significant costs and delays for today’s property owners and developers. As the G20 looms and the City promises renewal, will mismanagement and neglect once again sabotage the promise of Joburg’s urban growth?
Producer: Harri Vithi | Presenter: Masa Kekana
Toxic Streaming
He made a living from streaming chaos and violence. Now, he’s behind bars, accused of murder. In May, a young father died in hospital after being beaten outside a Boksburg pub. One of the two men accused of his murder is an influencer known for his livestreams bragging about fistfights and beatings. There’s a dark underside to South Africa’s social media as influencers threaten each other, make and receive death threats, and make money doing it. Has social media fantasy turned into real-world tragedy?
Producer: Graham Coetzer | Presenter: Lourensa Eckard
S’Pitori
It was born in the townships around Pretoria; an unofficial language amongst peoples forced together by apartheid’s forced removals. A tool of survival, uniting displaced communities under a new urban culture. But today, S’Pitori is hitting the big time. Once unpopular and marginalised, it’s becoming the language of South African pop culture and multiculturalism – locally and around the world. An exploration of the tension between formal education and oral tradition, and a celebration of South African music: this is the story of Pretoria’s lingua franca.
Producer: Matuba Mahlatjie | Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli
NOW STREAMING
The Last Cast
It’s one of the top-ten scuba diving destinations in the world. But last year, Sodwana Bay was rocked by the mysterious disappearance of one of its most popular residents. A much-loved local fisherman, John ‘Matambu’ Dercksen, took a charter passenger out to sea – and never returned. What at first appeared to be a tragic accident turned into a case of murder.
Sand Wars
It’s a natural resource in bigger demand than oil, central to how we build and live in our world – from our cities to our cell phones. And it’s in short supply globally. Believe it or not, we’re talking about sand. And a sand mining application is dividing one tiny coastal town. Residents who are locked in battle with the dunes drifting over their properties think the mine will save their homes, while others believe it spells the end of the unspoiled natural beauty they love.
NEWS AND VIEWS
New Trial for Nulane
In a major win for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has ordered a retrial for former Free State officials and Gupta-linked associates over the R24.9-million Nulane Investments fraud case. Initially acquitted in 2023 following what then-Acting Judge Nompumelelo Gusha described as the NPA’s “comedy of errors”, the prosecutor successfully appealed the matter, citing numerous legal missteps by the trial judge. In its ruling, the SCA agreed, finding multiple errors of law were made by the High Court.
The original case concerned a tender awarded by the Free State Department of Agriculture to Nulane – an entity connected to Gupta associate Iqbal Sharma – to conduct a feasibility study for the Vrede Dairy Project. Prosecutors allege that Nulane subcontracted the work, altered the results to benefit the Guptas, and laundered funds through related entities.
The SCA’s ruling restores the fraud, money laundering, and Public Finance Management Act violation charges against five accused: former Free State officials Peter Thabethe, Limakatso Moorosi and Seipati Dlamini, as well as Nulane’s Ronica Ragavan, Iqbal Sharma and Dinesh Patel. But is this enough to restore faith in the NPA? Based on its most recent statement, the entity seems confident this case will lead to prosecutions. “The NPA remains resolute in its stance of effectively prosecuting and holding accountable those responsible for state capture-related corruption.”
In case you missed our collaborative investigation with amaBhungane into the NPA’s many failures in recent years, you can watch the eye-opening interview with NPA head Shamila Batohi now on the Carte Blanche website. And for a deeper dive into Batohi and her team, you can visit amaBhungane’s website for a full-length documentary.
The retrial comes as the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) – an independent policy research and advocacy organisation – urged government to launch a formal inquiry into the NPA’s overall structure, integrity, performance and leadership. “The NPA has failed to institute and successfully prosecute a significant number of the major cases of corruption long identified in the forensic reports into PRASA, Transnet and Eskom, in the reports of the Zondo Commission, and in numerous journalistic investigations.”
The CDE further suggested that upcoming interviews for the new head of the NPA not be public as “this often produces poor results” and that “good candidates are dissuaded from applying, discussions become superficial, and media spectacle replaces serious engagement”.
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