Meet SA’s new envoy to America who called Trump a racist

--:--
In this edition, we scrutinise whether sending former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas as South Africa's special envoy to America is the right choice. This comes as a video from 2020, wherein he calls US President Trump a "racist", "homophobe", and "narcissistic right-winger", spreads across social media. Andisiwe Makinana, News24 political editor, and Graeme Raubenheimer, host of The Lead, discuss whether Jonas will even get to Washington, seeing as his predecessor, Ebrahim Rasool, was branded persona non grata and booted for similar comments. We also look at an Olympic swimming pool draining taxpayers' money and a trio who cycled all the way from Limpopo to Cape Town. Mail your comments and voice notes to thelead@24.com. Editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.
15 Apr English South Africa News · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

101 dead in EC flooding after cold front, with another on the way

At least 101 people have died and thousands left homeless after flooding hit the Eastern Cape earlier this month. As survivors catch their breath and rebuild their livelihoods, another intense cold front is creeping closer to the province. With snow, showers and sweeping winds forecast, we speak to News24’s East…
26 Jun 39 min

The sinking SA Navy, with Sikonathi Mantshantsha

The South African Navy’s limited operational capability has been scuppered in recent years. Today, only five vessels can take to the seas along our expansive coastline, and they are restricted to patrolling around our harbours. If you’re wondering, “Who needs a navy anyway?”, then you’re sorely mistaken about the force’s…
25 Jun 36 min

Meet the rogue soldiers who allegedly killed top cop, kidnapped ISIS bosses

A dozen former and current South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members are, as we speak, in police custody in connection with the murder of a senior Hawks detective. In 2023, Lieutenant Colonel Ngwako Frans Mathipa was shot and killed near Hammanskraal Toll Plaza. Mathipa was tasked with investigating an…
24 Jun 32 min

Mashatile, his sister-in-law and the R180bn Lotto deal

Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s sister-in-law has reason to celebrate. It has been revealed that Khumo Bogatsu’s company, Bellamont Gaming, is among the key shareholders of Sizekhaya Holdings, the company that has won one of the country’s most lucrative government tenders: the latest licence to operate the lottery. It is quite the politically-connected…
23 Jun 24 min

Karyn Maughan demystifies the NPA’s extradition ruling headache

The way South Africa’s prosecutors go about extraditing the criminally accused from another country to face justice in a local court is currently under intense scrutiny. The crux of the matter is that in 2014, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruled in one particular case that only the country’s…
19 Jun 41 min