“A few years ago, I worked with a gifted ‘fixer’ while on assignment in Ukraine. He’d expertly arranged three days of filming in Chernobyl, including an interview with a remarkable Babushka living in the nuclear exclusion zone. A decade or so younger than me with a wife and little daughter, he spoke glowingly of South Africa, of Mandela and our generally peaceful transition. I’ve been unable to reach him since the Russian invasion but, if he’s still alive, how let down he must feel.” – John Webb, Executive Producer
Pandering to Putin
The ANC’s political allegiance to its Cold War friend, Russia, is causing a political rumpus as a potential visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin forces the South African government to make tough choices. This includes whether it leaves the International Criminal Court (ICC) which may reset its already-damaged global reputation for the worse. The ICC has issued a warrant of arrest for Putin for the kidnapping of thousands of Ukrainian children during the conflict between the neighbours. As South Africa is a signatory to the Rome Statute – which underpins the ICC – it would be obliged to arrest Putin if he comes to South Africa for the BRICS summit in August. The Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde says he will get his unarmed Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers to arrest Putin if he strays into the Western Cape, a province under the political control of the opposition. While this throws up the spectacle of the absurd, it has set the cat further among the pigeons, sending the government into a legal huddle as it tries to work out what to do next. Is this political hot potato just one more milestone in South Africa’s slow drift to isolationism, compounded by greylisting, industrial-scale corruption, and clumsy foreign policy? Carte Blanche examines the consequences of pandering to Putin.
Producer: Marion Edmunds | Presenter: Masa Kekana
Deadly Encounters
It was described as an audacious prison break: the charred remains of an unidentified man lay in the now-infamous cell 35 at the G4S private prison in Mangaung while the man dubbed the “Facebook Rapist” made his escape. In a morbid ruse, his alleged accomplice, Nandipha Magudumana, later claimed the deceased as her customary law husband, Thabo Bester. Eleven months later and Bester, Magudumana and numerous alleged co-conspirators are behind bars. But while police tracked the two fugitives all the way to Tanzania, focus shifted to identifying the body left behind in cell 35. Now identified as Katlego Bereng, a man well-known to one of the accused, details of his brutal murder have shocked his family, leaving them with more questions than answers.
Producer: Busisiwe Gumede-Chizhanje | Presenter: Claire Mawisa
Saving N|uu
There are 7000 languages spoken around the world. But every year, at least 25 of those disappear, never to be spoken again. In South Africa, the ancient N|uu language is on the brink of extinction. But one woman is determined to preserve this heritage. Ouma Katrina Esau is the last surviving, fluent speaker of N|uu: a rich San language once widely spoken in villages across the Northern Cape. Now, the 90-year-old Ouma Katrina is determined to save the language and leave behind a cultural inheritance for future generations.
Producer: Liz Fish | Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli
Arch Angels
Sailing is one of the most challenging sports in the world as individuals battle dangerous winds and waters to voyage to distant shores. But for a group of unlikely seafarers from South Africa, sailing has unlocked a world of opportunity. In a history-making voyage, the first complete crew from the Royal Cape Yacht Club Sailing Academy – hailing from marginalised communities – crossed the finish line of the 50th Cape2Rio yacht race in third position. On board the ArchAngel, the team arrived in Rio de Janeiro 24-days after setting sail from Cape Town. The crew broke every stereotype, proving that it is possible for people from diverse backgrounds to participate in sports previously only accessible to a privileged few.
Producer: Sinethemba Nogude | Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli
CARTE BLANCHE: THE PODCAST
Dirty Dossiers, Crumbling Coalitions & Presidential Blunders
What was President Cyril Ramaphosa thinking when he suddenly announced SA’s exit from the ICC – then backtracked hours later? Masa Kekana and Daily Maverick’s Heather Robertson try and make sense of this presidential faux pas. And why coalition government needs a serious rethink…
Thabo Bester: Red Notice
The plan was meticulous: an unidentified body, a blazing fire, and prison officials who were paid to look the other way… Convicted murderer Thabo Bester almost got away with the most daring prison break in South Africa, until GroundUp’s investigative journalists caught on.
PICKS OF THE WEEK
Pitiful Potholes
They’re every town’s latest accessory, a headache for motorists, and a symptom of poor road maintenance in almost all municipalities. We go in search of SA’s worst roads.
Update: Stealing from the Disabled
It’s a story that left many of our viewers livid… Zuko Nonxuba painted himself as a brilliant litigation lawyer and a champion for the people. He’d go into underprivileged communities and offer to help families of children with disabilities. But in many cases, he simply pocketed the money and left them with nothing. Following our investigation, some of you stepped forward to help the children featured in our story. Proof that truth really does bring change.
Update: Catching Constable
Late-April, Carte Blanche laid bare Jonathan Constable’s many alleged dodgy schemes: from masquerading as a property expert to claiming he’s an international immigration consultant, and everything in between. Jonathan Constable had left his alleged victims outraged and out of pocket, but this week he’s feeling the heat. After over a year on the run, and with nowhere left to hide, the fake pilot comes crashing down to earth – quite literally.
Pilot Project
An alleged scamster with a tenuous relationship with reality: a bogus pilot, bogus Iraq war veteran, and bogus immigration expert. Yes, there’s no end to the roles on Jonathan Constable’s CV for which he is suitably unqualified. In fact, the only thing at which this Jack of All Trades truly excels is taking people for a financial ride. It’s alleged he’s hijacked buildings, weaponised the police to settle scores, and posed as a Home Affairs official to dupe desperate refugees out of tens of thousands of rands. This is a story Mr Contestable appears desperate to conceal but, despite his efforts to duck accountability, Carte Blanche will do what Carte Blanche does.
Decades of War
A decades-long war has turned innocent children into child soldiers. Not in the DRC or Sudan, but in Majola, Port St. Johns. Groomed to defend their homes and avenge loved ones lost in the terror, childhood friends and relatives have become sworn enemies. Homes have been torched, people hacked to pieces with pangas. Now, sleeping in the forests and mountains has become the norm for these Eastern Cape children, security and warm bed foreign concepts as they trek to safety under the cover of darkness. Carte Blanche investigates what lies behind this 50-year war between a cluster of villages… with no end in sight.
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