News24 The Lead

The Lead

Seasoned broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer brings you The Lead, News24’s definitive podcast for in-depth reporting. Join us every Monday to Thursday at 19:00 SAST for candid conversations with our top journalists, and discover what they saw, heard, and uncovered in their relentless pursuit of the big story. Episodes drop on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube like clockwork. WhatsApp: 072 562 3179 or mail: thelead@24.com. This is The Lead, and this is the South African story.
Weekly English South Africa News · Society & Culture
114 Episodes
20 – 40

Denel sends US firm 2 old jets allegedly without ejector seats

State-owned arms manufacturer Denel, known for developing world-renowned defence weaponry, including the Casspir armoured vehicle and the Rooivalk attack helicopter, has been battling to stay financially afloat in recent years, despite government bailouts. And now a jet deal it struck with a US firm has seemingly soured, too. Bringing The Lead…
27 Aug 27 min

News24 probe spurs finance minister to intervene in state pensions admin agency

It’s a fairly obscure government agency, but with a big budget. And now a News24 investigation led by journalist Sikonathi Mantshantsha has spurred the finance minister to appoint a new acting CEO at the state pensions administration agency. This follows evidence uncovered of irregular contracts, including a ghost building lease…
26 Aug 37 min

Clocking in from jail? Overtime abuse with Mangaung on the brink

It has been under national administration. And yet the financial books for the metro council in charge of Bloemfontein, Mangaung, remain firmly in the red. In short, the City’s liabilities exceed its assets. News24 investigative journalist Sipho Masondo reports to The Lead that the troubled council has allowed a culture…
25 Aug 26 min

Which ANC bigwigs could face US sanctions? Check with Zondo

Some US lawmakers remain relentless in drafting new legislation that seeks to punish South Africa on a range of policy fronts, going further than the measures already brought by the second Trump administration. The latest Bilateral Relations Review Bill, sponsored by a Texas Republican congressman, Ronny Jackson, will need plenty…
21 Aug 32 min

Babita Deokaran Day? 4 years later, calls to honour whistleblower

This Saturday, 23 August 2025, marks exactly four years to the day since Babita Deokaran, a single mother, was murdered. Gunned down in a hail of bullets fired from the firearms of hired hitmen, what we didn’t know at the time was that the Gauteng health department’s chief accountant had…
20 Aug 57 min

Adriaan Basson names SA’s dirtiest politician

It’s a critical position in the now crumbling City of Johannesburg: a mayoral committee member for group corporate and shared services. It may sound a bit vague. But in this seat, you’re responsible for finance management, the city’s IT infrastructure, and supply chain processes. And it’s now occupied by one,…
19 Aug 36 min

How a Polish website drives fake news in SA

A new report, put out by a research centre at Stellenbosch University, has now exposed a Poland-based news group called Visegrád24 for amplifying the views of alt-right commentators and their false narratives and mistruths about what’s happening in South Africa today. The report, authored by the university’s Centre for Information…
18 Aug 39 min

What to do with a rogue general? With Pieter du Toit

It seems like anyone can become South Africa’s foreign policy spokesperson these days. Just ask the chief of our defence force. South African National Defence Force chief General Rudzani Maphwanya jetted off to Tehran this week to meet with his Iranian counterpart and, quite astonishingly, spoke like the country’s foreign minister…
14 Aug 24 min

Billions for blue lights, SA’s VIP protection splurge with Jan Gerber

R1.47bn. This is how much the government has spent on protecting its VIPs from the 2020/21 financial year to date. And it’s not even the full picture of the cost. It’s especially mind-boggling, given that around R2.3bn has been set aside just this year alone to keep VIPs safe. To…
13 Aug 29 min

Coalition crumbles and cloak and dagger dealings in Joburg metro

The game of thrones, with its political musical chairs for coalition maneuvering now even has smaller parties pitted amongst each other in the government of local unity in the City of Johannesburg where local service delivery has suffered and urban decay has set in, in more recent years. Central to…
12 Aug 38 min

Exposing the pension agency’s near R1bn ghost headquarters deal

Another day, another allegedly dodgy case involving a lesser-known state agency. This time, News24’s investigations team has uncovered evidence that the Government Pensions Administration Agency (GPAA) has issued millions to a company to facilitate its new headquarters in the capital, Pretoria. Yet contractor Shula Developers has not secured the lease…
11 Aug 34 min

Inside Netshitenzhe’s speech on ‘white supremacy’ and a platinum bourse

He’s a mostly quiet but key former policy mind for the ANC. However, Joel Netshitenzhe is now picking up where former US ambassador Ebrahim Rasool left off. Now with the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection, or Mistra for short – the same think-tank that facilitated a webinar at which Rasool…
7 Aug 30 min

Tony Leon on the state of the GNU, the DA, and brown envelopes

The government of national unity (GNU) is MIA. And it’s not unified in the nation’s interests - it’s every man or woman for themselves. This is the opinion of one former DA leader-turned-ambassador, Tony Leon, who argues that SA’s current crop of leaders is failing the perfect storm test as…
6 Aug 39 min

No deal (yet) - what does Trump’s 30% tariffs mean for you?

We’re edging ever closer to becoming one of the few countries in the world to bear the full brunt of the US Trump administration’s 30% tariff slap. Can a last-minute phone call from President Cyril Ramaphosa curry favour and land a new US/SA trade deal? Business journalist William Brederode and The…
5 Aug 38 min

Shades of Babita - another auditor, another hit and more tender billions

It may mean “place of peace”. But the City of Ekurhuleni has been on edge this year following the murder of its chief auditor, Mpho Mafole. The soon-to-be married financial investigator was shot and killed not far from his Kempton Park home in late June. Mafole, a former staffer in the…
4 Aug 24 min

Oxygen thieves to blame in dodgy R800m tender? With Jan Gerber

An independent investigation into a massive government-sanctioned tender to provide 60 of our country’s hospitals with critical medical-grade oxygen has exposed many serious red flags throughout the procurement process. The DA’s Public Works and Infrastructure Minister in the government of national unity (GNU), Dean Macpherson, launched an investigation into alleged corruption…
30 Jul 32 min

Is northern KZN becoming SA’s new coal belt? With Sakhiseni Nxumalo

The people of Mbabane, a small rural town deep in northern KwaZulu-Natal, have had enough of coal mining in the area. Cracked walls, incessant soot and noise and poor service delivery have come to characterise the small town. The arrival of a local coal mine has brought mixed fortunes for…
28 Jul 41 min

Five months later and we finally have a Budget! With Carol Paton

It’s felt like a never-ending story. But after five gruelling months for the government of national unity (GNU), President Cyril Ramaphosa’s coalition has finally passed a Budget - a critical oil for his administration’s engine to keep running. At the same time, National Treasury’s brought three new measures to ensure we…
24 Jul 35 min
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