WORLD WIDE WEBB
“Many years ago, I worked on a story about a plan to remove pine trees from parts of the Table Mountain National Park. I remember being surprised by the vitriol the debate generated, and the anger we encountered among the people we interviewed. I don’t recall an immediate mass felling of trees in the months that followed, so I guess the pro-pine lobby won that battle. Of course, discussions like these are now shaped by the existential crisis presented by climate change. And while the vitriol has not diminished, I imagine the tolerance for it has. In 2022, it’s about doing the right thing by our planet.” – John Webb, Executive Producer
Police Impunity
When businesswoman, Nozi Xamlashe , was pulled over by a police officer in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape, she could not have known how the interaction that followed would one day change her life. The officer asked for her phone number and when she declined his advances, he made a chilling threat, one he would brutally fulfil months later while she was working at her hair salon. But Xamlashe’s is just one of many terrifying encounters Mthatha residents say they’ve had with the police. In this community – one of the top three most violent in the country – residents say far from being enforcers of the law, the police are often part of the problem. Carte Blanche investigates missing dockets and dirty cops at Mthatha’s two police stations, where cases of violent crime go uninvestigated.
Producer: Sipha Kema | Presenter: Claire Mawisa
Trees vs Fynbos
There’s a war brewing in the Western Cape, where tensions have been on a knife’s edge for decades. As climate change ravages the world, South Africa suffers too – and one of our most critical problems is the decreasing availability of water. Many experts say large plantations of trees not indigenous to the country are one of the major culprits in our shrinking water table; and that the survival of people, crops, and the unique fynbos biome is threatened by these alien species. On the other hand, some arborists believe that all trees are essential to maintain a proper ecological balance in the area. Carte Blanche takes to the skies for a bird’s-eye view.
Producer: Hamilton Wende | Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli
COMING SOON
The Miracle Man
A man of miracles, the heart of his congregation and a firm believer in resurrection. For over twenty years Dr Siva Moodley was the star attraction at a ministry preaching the prosperity doctrine. But more than 400 days since his passing, the well-known Gauteng pastor has yet to be buried, some of his family apparently convinced that he’ll rise from the dead. In the meantime, it’s business as usual at the church, including offers of counselling sessions with the late pastor – for a large fee. All the while, his body lies undisturbed at a Johannesburg funeral home. Carte Blanche investigates.
Producer: Latashia Naidoo | Research: Sinethemba Nogude | Presenter: Claire Mawisa
PODCAST EXCLUSIVES
EXTRA! Steinhoff: The Latest with Rob Rose
Once proudly called “the Ikea of Africa”, the gigantic Steinhoff came to a spectacular fall in 2017 when several accounting irregularities came to light. It soon became clear that this would be the biggest corporate fraud South Africa had ever seen. Now, almost five years later, authorities finally swooped down on ex Steinhoff CEO, Markus Jooste. But why only now? And what’s next? We speak to Rob Rose about the latest developments.
PICK OF THE WEEK
Sex, Lies & Prison Bars
An unexpected phone call from a stranger throws your life into disarray. An eerily calm voice on the other end of the line demands you hand over a significant amount of cash or risk arrest for a heinous crime you know you didn’t commit. However, the voice doesn’t belong to a police officer but rather an inmate in a maximum-security prison, one of the masterminds of an elaborate extortion scam. It manipulates sex workers into handing over the contact numbers of their less-favoured clients, transformed into unwitting victims by a single phone call.
WATCH IT AGAIN
Namhla Mtwa’s Demise
It was the evening of 21 April and Namhla Mtwa parked in her driveway in Mthatha – as always. But that night was different. She was killed by a waiting gunman, her body riddled with nine bullets.
Full Story (age restricted)
Please note: Carte Blanche line-ups are subject to change. Stories can be viewed at www.carteblanche.co.za
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