Is SA the next Mexico or Brazil when it comes to contract killings? 

Loading player...
There are some signs that South Africa is heading down the Latin American route, following the recent assassinations of some key societal figures. From Babita Deokaran to Bouwer van Niekerk, global crime experts warn that the targeting of whistleblowers, prosecutors, activists, and even journalists weakens the very foundation of democracy. To take stock of the lessons one can learn from Mexico, for example, The Lead’s Graeme Raubenheimer interviews Julian Rademeyer, the East and Southern Africa director for the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC). Later in the show, is SA/US trade dead in the water or is it all systems AGOA for a new agreement? And finally, we remember the Tulbagh earthquake of 1969 with “On This Day in SA History” courtesy SA History Online. You can send host Graeme Raubenheimer a voice note with your questions or thoughts on this live to 072 562 3179. Mail your comments to: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.
29 Sep English South Africa News · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

Poor Economic Empowerment - DA’s answer to BEE. PLUS: Slain auditor update

On one hand, the ANC’s championing of broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) has certainly succeeded in putting money into black people’s hands, a majority race excluded from enjoying the fruits of our country’s economy for centuries. But BBBEE’s critics, on the other hand, claim that the wealth this contentious policy…
21 Oct 18 min

Is this why Ekurhuleni auditor Mpho Mafole was assassinated?

Hunted. What was slain auditor Mpho Mafole and his team probing from within the City of Ekurhuleni when he was gunned down in Kempton Park this year? Find out by listening to this edition of The Lead with our senior investigative journalist, Sikonathi Mantshantsha. Later, in our trending topic, the PA…
20 Oct 25 min

Mchunu defends decision to disband PKTT, with Jan Gerber

He’s been itching to tell his side of the story. Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has been emphatic to Parliamentarians this Thursday that there was no sinister ulterior motive in disbanding the Political Killings Task Team and that the unit was under review for a long time. Catch the very…
16 Oct 29 min

Why is Riaan Manser going WILD with News24? PLUS: Bafana’s triumph

“The outdoors is screaming for you. Time to listen,” Who said that? Our very own Riaan Manser, of course, News24’s outdoors editor, a man of many firsts, including traversing the entirety of Africa on a bicycle. He joins us on The Lead alongside our Good News editor, Paul Herman, regaling us with…
15 Oct 1 hr 01 min

Zuma funder, diamond ‘conman’ Louis Liebenberg’s guitar, pool table under auction

He is accused of being one of South Africa’s best-known conmen. A larger-than-life diamond trader-turned-alleged-Ponzi scheme mastermind, the notorious Louis Liebenberg is currently languishing in a Pretoria remand prison cell. And from this week, the heavy, earth-moving construction gear Liebenberg’s mine operated out of Koingnaas in the Northern Cape will…
14 Oct 31 min