News24 The Lead

No laughing matter: How Mchunu set the Hawks on a TikTok satirist

Loading player...
It’s a story so out of left field and certainly not one we had on our bingo card for 2025!The Hawks, our supposedly elite crime-fighting unit, which is currently severely underpowered, have come out in strong defence of their investigation of fairly well-known local social media content creator Anton Taylor. The story, broken last week by our specialist legal journalist, Karyn Maughan, revealed that Taylor, after posting a satirical video of suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu earlier this year, attracted a full-blown Hawks probe and even a raid on his home, with officers hell-bent on gaining access to his cellphone. Maughan details the viral saga in its entirety on The Lead. Later in the show, membership of the ANC in the Eastern Cape is in sharp decline, warns its chairperson, Oscar Mabuyane. Also, the son of a Norwegian princess could face 10 years in prison if found guilty of rape. Lastly, we end off with ‘On This Day in SA History’. You can send host Graeme Raubenheimer a voice note with your questions or thoughts on this episode to: +27 72 562 3179. Mail your comments to: thelead@24.com. Editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.
Chapters
  • 00:01 Graeme's intro
  • 02:05 Interview with Karyn Maughan
  • 27:20 Trending topic: ANC EC members drop
  • 28:38 AD: Bruce Whitfield's Business Week
  • 29:05 And finally: Norway's princess' son to go on trial for rape
  • 29:47 AD: News24's The Weekender
  • 30:15 On This Day in SA History
3 Sep 2025 English South Africa News · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

Should SA get involved in the US-Venezuela crisis?

While the SACP marched on the US Embassy in Pretoria on Thursday to denounce the Trump administration’s abduction of another sitting head of state, the political parties that make up the current government of national unity (GNU) failed to see eye-to-eye on how best to react to the US-Venezuela crisis…
8 Jan 29 min

From SIU head to NPA boss, Andy Mothibi’s surprise leap raises eyebrows

A surprise appointment to be sure… Corruption buster Advocate Andy Mothibi has his work cut out for him as the new head of the National Prosecuting Authority from February 1. But does his bypassing of the interview process sour the start of his new position, and what about concerns over…
7 Jan 21 min

Why are SA shoppers still using savings stamps? With Maya Fisher-French

In our second edition of the new year so far… They’re by no means a new invention. But they appear to be as popular as ever, according to one major retailer. Many South Africans continue to spend millions on savings stamps every month, according to consumer journalist Maya Fisher-French. Later,…
6 Jan 22 min

Analysing Bafana’s Afcon exit

Welcome to 2026 Lead listeners… From municipal elections to the FIFA World Cup, it is going to be a banger of a year… and we’ll be with you telling our countries’ most critical stories, every step of the way. For our first edition of season two of The Lead; Bafana…
5 Jan 29 min

The government of national unity (barely) survives 2025, with Jan Gerber

Touch wood, South Africa’s government of national unity has survived 2025. But the tested national coalition between two of the country’s most devout enemies, the ANC and the DA, has the war wounds to show for it. And senior parliamentary correspondent Jan Gerber has borne witness to most of these…
23 Dec 2025 23 min
All episodes