“There’s an art to confronting alleged criminals when the cameras are rolling; one more difficult to master than you might realise. It involves a level of planning that would impress the D-Day generals, and no shortage of gumption. On Sunday’s show, our Govan Whittles provides a masterclass in the classic ‘confront’ as he unravels a farming scam, and shepherds a sheepish farmer into a corner.” – John Webb, Executive Producer
Holy Sheep
He was a model citizen in the farming community of Barkly East in the Eastern Cape. A God-fearing commercial farmer with a loyal circle of friends. He was wealthy, too, by all accounts and promised similar riches for some of his closest friends and several others from a lucrative investment project. It was a simple blueprint: his investors would buy cattle and sheep and he would farm them on their behalf. Leaning on their shared religious devotion, his investment base grew impressively and his scheme blossomed into a multi-million rand operation. Then, as they so often do, things turned sour and what appeared a legitimate and profitable business imploded. The investors, the majority of whom are pensioners, lost everything. Carte Blanche investigates.
Producer: Anina Peens | Presenter: Govan Whittles
Cape Town’s Taxi Stand-off
Years of tension between the City of Cape Town and the taxi industry came to a head this week as wanton violence spilled onto the city’s highways and streets, unwitting commuters and other civilians caught in the middle. On Thursday last week, taxi bosses unexpectedly suspended their services to embark on a week-long stay-away that left thousands of desperate commuters stranded. Many of them, including school children, attempted the long treacherous journeys home on foot. Violence soon followed as buses and other vehicles were burnt and stoned, and troublemakers sowed chaos on commuter transport routes by intimidating workers trying to get to and from work. At the centre of the stand-off was a demand that impounded taxis be released, something the City’s authorities refused to consider. By Thursday evening, and after several rounds of tense negotiations, the taxi industry finally gave in.
Producer: Marion Edmunds | Presenter: Erin Bates
Unlikely Detectives
Portia Marinana, a social worker at Dora Nginza Hospital in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, loves her work. Every day, she helps make a daunting hospital stay less stressful for nervous and sometimes troubled patients. She never expected having to one day become an amateur detective to solve a case that was baffling the police. It began with an apparently innocent visit to her office by the grandparents of a 7-month-old baby and ended with the arrest of a young woman on charges of kidnapping. Thanks to a sixth sense and dedication to her craft, Portia and her “partner in solving crime” colleague Kaamiela Eagles, a little baby was reunited with his desperate mother.
Producer: Sinethemba Nogude | Presenter: Govan Whittles
CARTE BLANCHE: THE PODCAST
Of Songs, Symbolism and Society
Symbolic or a veiled threat? We look at the latest debate swirling around Kill The Boer. Then, illegal mining is top of mind for many Joburg residents. So, what’s the solution? And we celebrate Women’s Month while also taking a very sober look at what can be done to empower South African women even more.
Broadcast Bandit
We investigate a man of many incarnations: film director, television distributor, doctor and now, pastor. Why do his victims claim he’s duped them out of hundreds of thousands of rands? After a year-long investigation, we track down the notorious Netflix Scammer.
PICKS OF THE WEEK
Metro Match-up
Johannesburg: the City of Gold. Poorly maintained, high crime levels, dilapidated. Cape Town: the Mother City. Pristine beaches, a functioning municipality and the dark underbelly of organised crime. It’s the battle of provinces as hard-nosed Joburgers choose to escape to the Cape.
Celebrating Women with Dr Bones
On 6 August 2023, we met Dr Keneiloe Molopyane as we headed down the Rising Star Cave in search of pieces of human history. An archaeologist and biological anthropologist, Dr Molopyane has been one of about 48 people to have entered the Dinaledi Chamber – a section of the cave where fossils belonging to at least 15 hominins believed to have been intentionally placed there as part of a ritual. Masa Kekana chatted to “Dr Bones” about paving the way for other aspiring female archaeologists, being an underground astronaut, and making discoveries that could alter the way we view human evolution.
JOIN THE #CARTEBLANCHE CONVERSATION
Please note: Carte Blanche line-ups are subject to change. Stories can be viewed at www.carteblanche.co.za
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