The Lead

Inside the Bellville South house of horrors

Every now and then, South Africans are rocked by the depravity of a heinous act of crime. This week, we learnt of a 63-year-old woman who stands accused before the courts of murdering and dismembering her beloved 79-year-old sister, a resident of Cape Town's Bellville South suburb. Allow News24's journalist, Lisa-Lee…

24 Mar 20 min

Graft-spotting? Texts reveal ex-Prasa head’s alleged corruption

What is the public not getting to see after the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) was ordered to keep the findings of a damning forensic investigation under lock and key? Despite evidence of major alleged graft and bribery against him, Prasa's former head of rolling stock, Molefe Mosweu, is…

23 Mar 26 min

Hear from new NPA boss, and the summit births two jobs

On Day Two of News24’s On The Record jobs summit, we weigh the severe toll crime and corruption have taken on the state of South Africa, and hear from our new National Prosecuting Authority head, advocate Andy Mothibi, with News24’s investigations editor, Pieter du Toit. Later in the show, let…

20 Mar 34 min

On The Record: Hear job insights from Paton, Ramaphosa, Manuel, Kieswetter

We're a country of around 65 million people. Now, if you consider the expanded definition of unemployment in South Africa, which is nearly 43%, this equates to 12.4 million people of age who simply cannot find work right now. Of this figure, 3.7 million people in this country today are…

19 Mar 31 min

Key ‘hitmen’ in Murray, ‘Witness D’ murders and their tobacco industry links

This Wednesday on The Lead on News24, we drill down, layer by layer, into two high-profile murder cases: the Murray murders and the killing of the Madlanga Commission's “Witness D”, Marius van der Merwe. We draw out three key suspects who have all enjoyed past ties to a central figure…

18 Mar 27 min

Commission continued: Same name, different stories, one rampant police crisis

From Pretoria to Parliament: we hear from two Fannies in the SAPS this Tuesday. One, a sergeant, Fannie Nkosi, who claims that national deputy top cop Shadrack Sibiya did accept gifts from alleged criminal Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala. And two, national top cop, Fannie Masemola, who insists to MPs that he…

17 Mar 32 min

98 then 94, now 97% complete! Will Jozi’s forensic super lab finally open?

It's meant to revolutionise the processing time it takes to crack critical criminal cases in Gauteng. But no, Mr Panyaza Lesufi, claiming that the long-delayed forensic pathology lab in Johannesburg is a “win” during your administration feels hollow, given that it was meant to open seven years ago. Just ask…

16 Mar 20 min

Mmusi Maimane on the DA’s ‘toxic’ politics and why the N2 wall won’t work

In 2011, he was but a DA spokesperson. Today, 15 years later, he's part of a centrist collective of opposition political parties preparing to shake up how our metros are governed. “Let's come together and work because what we need in SA are pragmatic policies,” says Build One South Africa (BOSA)…

12 Mar 48 min

ANC-linked Carrim, the ‘Cat’ and Maumela do ‘business’, or is it money laundering?

He claims he was caught up in the web of doing business with people he eventually became afraid of disobeying. But the Madlana Commission has put it to ANC-affiliated businessman Suliman Carrim that he may have committed money laundering by moving funds between himself, the notorious Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala, and…

11 Mar 25 min

Should SA shore up its fuel reserves? Plus: Jooste’s mansion sold

With global oil prices skyrocketing, largely due to rising conflict in Southwest Asia, South African industry experts are concerned that we should be shoring up our local fuel supplies. And although the economy shows signs of a strong rebound, motorists face the prospect of petrol prices rising by more than…

10 Mar 19 min

The Ximba connection exposed in R1.8bn Ekurhuleni toilets tender

We now know that City of Ekurhuleni financial auditor Mpho Mafole put his life on the line to raise red flags about the metro's R1.8 bn toilets tender. Deciphering every detail, News24 investigations journalist Sikonathi Mantshantsha and company have found proof that one of the contractors appointed is intimately and…

9 Mar 24 min

Geordin Hill-Lewis on why he can be SA’s president and the ‘disgraceful’ Steenhuisen vs George spat

He’s the preferred candidate whose name is on the lips of many senior DA party members. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis sits down to lunch with The Lead’s Graeme Raubenheimer this Thursday.From student politics, his allegiance to Helen Zille, the George v Steenhuisen saga, and ambitions for the Union Buildings,…

5 Mar 25 min

Your SA guide to understanding the US, Israel, Iran conflict

The conflict situation in the Middle East is fluid.South Africans in Dubai and Bahrain tell of the terror of Iran’s retaliatory strikes after Israel and the US took out Iran’s supreme leader. The traveller’s airspace is chaotic. And Pretoria’s allegiance to Tehran will be tested further. We cross to global…

4 Mar 22 min

Arrests as HIV funds wasted on probing health ministry whistleblower

Senior health department officials are facing the music for allegedly siphoning off around R1 million from the Global Fund, which is meant to assist in fighting HIV, TB and malaria, all to pay a so-called independent investigator to try and discipline an internal corruption whistleblower. Let our investigative journalist, Azarrah Karrim,…

3 Mar 22 min

Jetting off to London and then a fuel tender? Jeff Wicks investigates

Oh, no, it wasn't a gift… That's the insistence from former Ekurhuleni city manager Imogen Mashazi, who in 2022 hopped on a R3.5-million, privately chartered jet for a shopping spree in central London. And who did she share the luxurious flight with? Investigative journalist Jeff Wicks explains why this matters in the…

2 Mar 20 min

Two sides of a coin? Examining O’Sullivan and Mogotsi

Are they two sides of a similar coin? Parliamentarians have spent the past few weeks grilling the rather cryptic backgrounds of both investigator Paul O’Sullivan and information peddler Brown Mogotsi. The pair, in their own peculiar ways, have found themselves so embroiled in, or alleged in proximity to, all sorts of…

26 Feb 28 min

Tax breaks galore, reforms and economic growth forecast in Budget 2026

Don’t worry, folks, it appears 2026 is a good news Budget. In a nutshell, Treasury has spared us the pain of universal tax increases, while also introducing increases on tax-free thresholds for several investments. The economy, as many continue to celebrate, is turning the corner, so much so that the…

25 Feb 25 min

The Joburg water crisis is not over

Coronationville, Westbury and Melville are among the Johannesburg suburbs still suffering from a perpetual water crisis. Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has promised residents that long-term solutions are on the way. But metro journalist Alex Patrick tells us that, in the meantime, many infuriated locals are struggling to survive. In our…

24 Feb 20 min

Alleged bribes, price gouging the locomotives for Prasa deal?

Multi-millions of our hard-earned taxes have gone towards a mass Metrorail train refurbishment project but allegations of bribery between the contractors and the Passenger Rail Agency (Prasa) dog this deal, all while the trains gather rust, and are yet to leave any station. We mind the gap with investigative journalist…

23 Feb 30 min

Inside the spectacle that was SONA 2026

The opening of Parliament, albeit from Cape Town City Hall, is anything but a quiet affair. Let The Lead host, Graeme Raubenheimer, take you inside the spectacle that was the State of the Nation Address 2026. From politicians’ demands on the red carpet and a student protest to the president’s podium,…

13 Feb 11 min