Coming Up On Carte Blanche – 7 July 2024

“It’s an uncomfortable truth that, while geography and gender preclude my membership of the Nahoon Beach Grommets, I do meet their strict age limit. It’s a bitter pill, but there is a measure of consolation to be had from knowing a well-deserved retirement and long-overdue appointment with daytime television are within sight. While one can’t help but admire the playful determination of the Granny Grommets, my retirement goals are slightly less ambitious: just enough energy to brave a dip in the ocean between re-runs of MasterChef and the Antiques Roadshow.” – John Webb, Executive Producer

Memory Card Murders

It was a case out of Alaska in the United States that gained international attention back in 2019: the discovery of a memory card containing footage of a brutal murder. The man behind the horrific crime was South African, Brian Steven Smith, a newly naturalised US citizen who had documented himself strangling a native Alaskan woman to death in a hotel room. He’d later confess to the murder of another Alaskan woman a year earlier. In February, Smith was convicted on 14 charges, including two counts of murder. He now awaits his fate in a US jail. Carte Blanche tracks his journey from the streets of Komani in the Eastern Cape to his gruesome murders in Alaska.

Producer: Latashia Naidoo | Presenter: Erin Bates

Justice for Ukraine

In the capital city of Kyiv, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin and his team have spent months examining evidence of war crimes. Since Russia’s military invasion more than two years ago, Ukraine has been collecting exhibits and eyewitness accounts to mount a case against the Kremlin and its military forces and secure justice for thousands of civilians who have been tortured and killed in the ongoing war. Kostin is confident that it’s only a matter of time before Russia will be prosecuted for war crimes and forced to retreat from Ukraine’s borders. Carte Blanche, alongside a group of international journalists, gets a seat at the table as the high-level strategy missions highlight the plight of the Ukrainian people.

Producer: Floris Kotze | Presenter: Govan Whittles

Granny Grommets

It’s an early Friday morning on Nahoon Beach in the Eastern Cape, and Susan Matthee and her best friend, Riana Swanepoel, are stepping outside their normal routine. Stripping off their vintage jewellery and silk scarves, Susan and Riana don their wetsuits and strap boogie boards to their wrists to catch the morning wave. And they aren’t alone. They belong to a group of dozens of women – all over 50 – who aren’t content with settling into stereotypical hobbies for the elderly. Looking for a little action and excitement, they’ve committed themselves to doing something out-of-the-box in their twilight years. They call themselves the Granny Grommets: elderly amateur boogie boarders with a taste for adventure. Carte Blanche caught some waves with these senior citizens.

Producer: Tarryn Crossman | Presenter: Lourensa Eckard

CARTE BLANCHE: THE PODCAST

A Bakkie Named Edna

Hospitals under siege – why it’s time to pay attention to cyberattacks on healthcare systems. From chatbots to image generators and transcription tools – AI is here to stay, and South Africans are loving it. Then, protests in Kenya continue as the youth say: no more. Later, how a simple tech solution is keeping moms-to-be safe. And why a Hilux bakkie named Edna captured the hearts of many. But first, it’s a case of on again, off again… Why did a seemingly solid GNU fall to pieces within a matter of hours, and what does this say about the future under a coalition government?

Listen Now

PICKS OF THE WEEK

Rabid Seals

A baby seal infected with rabies bites a surfer in the Western Cape, becoming one of at least eight seals to test positive for the virus. Can authorities stop the spread of rabies in seals?

Full Story (age restridted)

Rainbow Runner

One man, his running shoes and an extraordinary 10 000 km run. Keith Boyd has broken a 25-year-old world record for the fastest journey from Cape to Cairo on foot.

Full Story

GET THE UPDATE

UPDATE: Dr Tristram Horton: An Open Secret

Earlier this month we investigated American doctor Tristram Horton, an unlicenced neurosurgeon operating on patients in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. He was facing serious and multiple allegations of medical malpractice. This week, the Medical and Dental Professions Board resolved to suspend Horton from the HPCSA’s register, meaning he can no longer practise here.

Watch Again

UPDATE: MIDWIFE YOLANDE FOUCHEE / MARITZ

The disgraced midwife, Yolande Fouchee (aka Yolande Maritz), who we investigated on several occasions in the past few months for allegedly endangering mothers and their babies, has now been charged. She’s facing ten charges including assault and practicing without a licence.