Coming up on Carte Blanche on M-Net & M-Net HD [101], Sunday 08 December 2024 at 19:00
Claim No Easy Victories
In 2019, Shamila Batohi returned from The Hague to lead our National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). During the Zuma presidency, the once-proud NPA had been hollowed out by state capture; Batohi was a welcome appointment who promised to restore the organisation and ensure speedy convictions of state capture perpetrators. The same year, former prosecutor Hermione Cronje returned to head up the NPA’s sharp end: the Investigating Directorate (ID) which would investigate, arrest and prosecute state capture and complex financial crimes. Batohi and Cronje: two powerful women with the same aim. But within two years, Cronje left for a second time. Since then, the NPA has made several high-profile arrests, but the progress on state capture cases is dismal, and crucial ones have been struck from the roll. Is the NPA still in crisis, despite angry denials from current leadership? Carte Blanche, in association with amaBhungane, looks at what has gone wrong at the National Prosecuting Authority.
Producer: Joy Summers
Presenter: Susan Comrie
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The Historian
On any given afternoon in the Botanical Gardens, visitors may spot one of Johannesburg’s rare sights. Sometimes it’s an Inca warrior or an Ottoman trader. But on really good days, it’s a Crusader patrolling the forests. Gareth Sephton is a unique character with a passion for history, and he’s decided to literally put himself in the shoes of those who lived before us to experience what life was like in a bygone era. Gareth believes history is more than just memorising a string of facts: it’s a sensory experience, and he’s not afraid to immerse himself in the textures and tastes of any era. Dog walkers may be confused by his attire, but for children at a local primary school and the elderly at a nearby retirement home, Gareth teaches and entertains in equal measure. A delightful story about what might happen when you let your imagination run free.
Producer: Kate Barry
Presenter: Govan Whittles
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Pick of the Week:
Kidnapping Crisis
In many parts of the country, criminal syndicates are abducting mostly foreign businesspeople and demanding ransom for their safe return. It’s an alarming trend and, increasingly, South Africans are also becoming targets. In parts of the Eastern Cape, kidnappings have reached crisis point with some security experts estimating that at least two people are taken every week. And it could be days, sometimes weeks, before they’re released – and that’s if they’re released. On an assignment notable for the number of people too terrified to appear on camera, we headed to one of the province’s major kidnapping hotspots – Qonce (formerly King William’s Town).
Carte Blanche: The Podcast
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Please note Carte Blanche line-ups are subject to change.
