The Lead

Adriaan Basson calls out SA’s Trump collaborators

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Remember their names: Kallie Kriel, Rob Hersov, Elon Musk. These are just some of the collaborators News24 editor-in-chief Adriaan Basson argues play...

The MKP’s puzzling Russia deployment. PLUS: How to spot AI slop

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We lead today’s show with a News24 exclusive on news that the MK Party flew some of its members to Russia to train as bodyguards only for them to be...

Cat clairvoyance? Matlala bagged clinic lease months before SAPS tender

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Just when you thought the Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala saga couldn’t get any more intriguing, it does. Today, specialist investigative journalist Jeff...

Jozi leaders out of office ahead of G20. PLUS: DA, ANC, PA duel for WC

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From the Big Smoke to Slaapstad, there’s plenty to unpack politically this week. In Jozi, a temporary leadership vacuum ahead of the G20 Leaders’ ...

BEE makeover - Is Tau’s Transformation Fund glow-up enough?

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau’s dream of realising a massive voluntary fund to uplift small black businesses gets a reality check in this ed...

All aboard? Not quite, as Gautrain stuck in search for new operator

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Democratic South Africa has had such lofty dreams of bullet trains for our now largely decrepit rail network. The Gautrain, though, stands as somewhat...

SARS guns for company linked to Mashatile’s sons. PLUS: Murray murders case restarts

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Once a registered South African company trades past R1 million, it is legally required to pay value-added tax (VAT). Tell that to two of the deputy pr...

Rassie’s suprise year-end rookie. PLUS: Black Coffee’s R157m CT villa

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Springbok boys in green and gold go head-to-head with their old foes, the Japanese Cherry Blossoms this 1 November. Coach Rassie Erasmus has alrea...

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

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On one hand, the ANC’s championing of broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) has certainly succeeded in putting money into black people’s ...

Is this why Ekurhuleni auditor Mpho Mafole was assassinated?

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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?...

Mchunu defends decision to disband PKTT, with Jan Gerber

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

He’s been itching to tell his side of the story. Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has been emphatic to Parliamentarians this Thursday that the...

The real costs of the police’s PKTT. PLUS: Bafana’s last chance

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Much of the Madlanga Commission’s focus has been on detailing the events leading up to the disbandment of KwaZulu-Natal’s Political Killings Task ...

Mkhwanazi in Parly. Maumela, Sibiya raids. PLUS: Bafana FIFA preview

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Die poppe is besig om te dans! Translated: the dolls are busy dancing! Which essentially means the chickens have come home to roost. While the SIU r...

More Jozi coalition chaos on the cards? PLUS: Mkhwanazi latest

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The smaller, minority political parties are easily the kingmakers in the City of Johannesburg. Now, though, it has emerged that some of them have sud...

ANC considers changing tack against DA’s Zille in Jozi

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With the DA quick out of the gates to deploy one of its most senior members to run for Johannesburg’s mayoral chain, where does this leave the ANC? ...

Meet the monster John Harris (with Jacques Pauw)

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Please note that our top story in The Lead today may upset you. Listeners’ discretion is advised. In short, you’re going to meet the monster John...

Morgan Maumela’s North West hospital hustle, with Jeff Wicks

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

He’s been riding high in Lamborghinis, now eyed by investigators for asset seizure. Hangwani Morgan Maumela, the supreme tender don at the centre o...

Mogotsi, Matlala and the ‘Big Five’ criminal cartel

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It is already week three of the Madlanga Commission in Pretoria, and we have witnessed some damning allegations of the criminal capture of the country...

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

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There are some signs that South Africa is heading down the Latin American route, following the recent assassinations of some key societal figures. Fro...

Police chief Masemola claims Mchunu, Sibiya shielded criminals

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On day five of the Madlanga Commission sitting in Pretoria: South Africa’s police chief, Fannie Masemola, has alleged that his now-suspended deputy,...

Masemola reveals deputy Sibiya probed for alleged criminal syndicate links

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been day four of the Madlanga Commission with our second witness on the stand: national police commissioner Fannie Masemola, who’s since insi...

Mkhwanazi tells Madlanga about Mogotsi’s ‘unfettered’ SAPS access

19 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Friday marks day three of the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into allegations of criminal capture of the country’s criminal justice system. Evidence...

Mkhwanazi guns for NCC MP Fadiel Adams over ‘reckless’ handling of classified info

18 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s day two of the Madlanga Commission and KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, has begun implicating more pub...

Foundation laid on Day 1 of the Madlanga Commission

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time ever, News24’s The Lead has gone live from the source of the story. The News24 team has set up camp at the Brigitte Mabandla Just...

DA envy: Unpacking Ramaphosa’s startling admission with Bongekile Macupe

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In a stunning admission rarely seen from any politician in South Africa today, ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa conceded that DA municipalities, such as ...

Unravelling the complex crypto fund that embroiled slain lawyer Bouwer van Niekerk

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Four people continue to elude the Gauteng police’s grasp for the brazen murder of top Johannesburg insolvency attorney Bouwer van Niekerk. He was sh...

The Cat and the Hat - what did Cele do at Zimbali villa? PLUS: Charlie Kirk’s hit

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For our final edition of The Lead this week: it’s getting more difficult for former police minister Bheki Cele to downplay his past meetings with co...

Why is trans inmate taking state to court? PLUS: ‘Sweatshop’ sentencing

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to this bumper Wednesday edition of The Lead on News24. Our first topic deals with the case of a transgender inmate in Johannesburg Central Pr...

The brutal killing of ‘incorruptible’ lawyer Bouwer van Niekerk, with Kyle Cowan

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The hit on a top Johannesburg insolvency lawyer has reverberated throughout the country’s legal fraternity. Now, while the police attempt to arrest ...

Who is Andre Pienaar, the ‘low-level’ spook badmouthing SA in DC?

08 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to the 100th episode of The Lead on News24, hosted by broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer. First, we’ll reflect on the moment with our ...

Council chaos in the wild, wild North West, with Siyamtanda Capa

04 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The North West province appears to be the wild, wild west these days. The audit reports for most municipalities in this often-forgotten province make ...

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

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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, whic...

Looters’ paradise or critical body? Debate over role of state pensions agency

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been a national talking point these past few weeks thanks to our intrepid investigative journalist, Sikonathi Mantshantsha, who’s refusing to...

Witness the rise of our Springbok Women, with Lloyd Burnard

01 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

South Africa’s Springbok Women celebrated this weekend like never before with a truly historic win: their first triumph over Italy and their very fi...

Will the delayed Madlanga inquiry restore SA’s trust in the SAPS?

28 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It was all meant to get under way in Pretoria in the new week, but the Madlanga inquiry has been delayed, seemingly due to factors out of its control....

Denel sends US firm 2 old jets allegedly without ejector seats

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

State-owned arms manufacturer Denel, known for developing world-renowned defence weaponry, including the Casspir armoured vehicle and the Rooivalk att...

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

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a fairly obscure government agency, but with a big budget. And now a News24 investigation led by journalist Sikonathi Mantshantsha has spurred ...

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

25 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It has been under national administration. And yet the financial books for the metro council in charge of Bloemfontein, Mangaung, remain firmly in the...

Which ANC bigwigs could face US sanctions? Check with Zondo

21 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

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

20 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 bull...

Adriaan Basson names SA’s dirtiest politician

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

How a Polish website drives fake news in SA

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

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

14 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It seems like anyone can become South Africa’s foreign policy spokesperson these days. Just ask the chief of our defence force. South African Natio...

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

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 pictur...

Coalition crumbles and cloak and dagger dealings in Joburg metro

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The game of thrones, with its political musical chairs for coalition maneuvering now even has smaller parties pitted amongst each other in the governm...

Exposing the pension agency’s near R1bn ghost headquarters deal

11 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Another day, another allegedly dodgy case involving a lesser-known state agency. This time, News24’s investigations team has uncovered evidence that...

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

07 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 l...

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

06 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

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

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

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

04 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 s...

Criminal comrades? Pieter du Toit on THAT party picture that says a thousand words

31 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

“All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”.If you haven’t read Animal Farm, that’s one of author George Orwell’s most famo...

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

30 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An independent investigation into a massive government-sanctioned tender to provide 60 of our country’s hospitals with critical medical-grade oxygen...

Mashatile’s millionaire mansions – but who pays for them? With Kyle Cowan

29 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It must be super lekker to be the deputy president. During the week, you can live it up in your Waterfall mansion in Midrand. And on the weekends, you...

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

28 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 an...

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

24 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s felt like a never-ending story. But after five gruelling months for the government of national unity (GNU), President Cyril Ramaphosa’s coal...

Are INTEC, Damelin failing their students and staff? With Prega Govender

23 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is Educor setting itself up for deregistration by the government once again? Representing a host of private education institutions, including Damelin ...

SAPS ‘capture’ web of intrigue widens with ‘Death Squad’ mastermind’s arrest

22 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

First came the “Cat’s” arrest. But Sandton figurehead, Katiso “KT” Molefe, is now in police custody, too. It’s in connection with the 2022...

Jozi’s construction cartel with alleged links to senior ANC councillor

21 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A top councillor, wearing the ANC colours in the City of Johannesburg, stands accused of meddling in and stalling key public infrastructure developmen...

Who’s coup is it anyway? With Amanda Khoza

17 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As the Ramaphosa administration grapples with a warring police force, a hollowed out South African Air Force and a scuppered Navy, how real or imminen...

Latest twist in unfolding police war, with Tankiso Makhetha

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If claims are anything to go by right now, the top brass of the South African Police Service (SAPS) appears to be at severe odds following bombshell c...

How one act of kindness helped a family find their homeless brother

15 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a complicated story like so many aspects of modern life. Relatives of a homeless man in Cape Town, “Luigi”, who’d gone viral for attendin...

What to expect from the inquiry into SAPS ‘capture’, with Karyn Maughan

14 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Another year, another commission of inquiry. Mbuyiseli Madlanga, the soon-to-be retiring deputy chief justice, will be chairing the country’s umpte...

Why is Gauteng’s R700m forensic super-lab still closed?

10 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a state-of-the-art facility meant to speed up the processing of post-mortems and toxicology reports to give grieving families much-needed closu...

Consensual sexts or unwanted advances? Judge President Mbenenge under fire, with Karyn Maughan

09 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge remained under cross-examination this Wednesday over allegations that he sexually harassed a former court ...

The big, beautiful Trump tariff explainer with William Brederode

08 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In less than a month, South African produce and products being shipped to America will face remarkably higher tariffs. This came after US President Do...

Is the SAPS captured? With Jeff Wicks

07 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The gloves are off. In a startling Sunday press conference, KwaZulu-Natal’s provincial police commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, publicly claimed tha...

We chat about the Boks’ homeless superfan and a son’s cheeky Spur poster

03 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From a good Samaritan who gave his extra Bok ticket to a homeless man, to a woman who reforged her legacy after a forced marriage at 14; good news edi...

Charting the DA and ANC’s GNU collision course with Jan Gerber

02 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s surprise axing of DA deputy minister Andrew Whitfield has again set the cat among the government of national unity’s (...

Are we seeing glimpses of Rassie’s grand plan for 2027?

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Springbok test season is in full swing with a convincing win over the Barbarians, a first on South African soil this past weekend. Now, the Boks’...

Can Starlink stake its claim in South Africa? With Carol Paton

30 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lesotho has granted Elon Musk’s satellite internet streaming service, Starlink, a decade-long licence to operate there. How did Lesotho get Starlin...

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

26 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

The sinking SA Navy, with Sikonathi Mantshantsha

25 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

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

24 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

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

23 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s sister-in-law has reason to celebrate. It has been revealed that Khumo Bogatsu’s company, Bellamont Gaming, is ...

Karyn Maughan demystifies the NPA’s extradition ruling headache

19 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The way South Africa’s prosecutors go about extraditing the criminally accused from another country to face justice in a local court is currently un...

Iran, Israel conflict explained

18 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Despite calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, the Middle Eastern nations have, in recent days, exchanged a volley of missile strikes, adding ...

Streets of sewage and a ray of light in Krugersdorp, with Sikonathi Mantshantsha

12 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2024, News24’s Waste Land exposé uncovered the source of the Gauteng West Rand’s unbearable smell: the old Percy Stewart Wastewater Treatment ...

Wouter Basson vs HPCSA round two, with Tammy Petersen

11 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) continues in 2025 to push for some sort of historical accountability from “Dr Death” Wouter...

The bloody diamond war in Namaqualand with Jacques Pauw (special edition)

10 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, the forgotten, desolate sands of the coastal Namaqualand region of the Northern Cape have offered both illicit diggers and influential ty...

Meet the Jozi broker who disappeared with millions from friends, family and clients

09 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A “smooth talker” who plied clients with fantastic food and drink, convincing many into handing over their precious millions, only to evade questi...

Has the NPA messed up again? Karyn Maughan on why Ace Magashule’s PA walked free

05 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

She’s a free woman. Moroadi Cholota, the former assistant to then-Free State Premier Ace Magashule, has won her special plea against the National P...

Bye-bye Floyd - why MK speared Shivambu as SG, with Andisiwe Makinana

04 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

He took off his red beret to take up the spear. But the writing’s been on the wall for some time before the uMkhonto weSizwe Party on Tuesday booted...

Selling sweets to pay for matric ball and May’s best good news stories

03 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From a viral grade twelve pupil selling sweets every morning at the local taxi rank to attend his matric dance, to a young Ikeys rugby star who got a ...

Suspected ISIS SA leader appears in a Joburg court, with Tankiso Makhetha

02 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Hawks’ Crimes Against the State unit (CATS) believe they’ve caught a suspected senior leader in the Islamic State terrorist network operating ...

News24 finds ‘hornet’s nest’ of fake news, with Andrew Thompson

29 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Like most fake news these days, it all started with a friend’s WhatsApp message, sharing an article with the header: “Cape Town drivers to face co...

From Lesotho to Emfuleni, securing SA’s precious water sources

28 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a mammoth legacy project critical to keeping the taps flowing in Johannesburg, Pretoria, and the rest of Gauteng well into the future. However,...

Johannesburg’s R16.3bn blackhole, with Khaya Koko

27 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The City of Gold that once shone brightly has been dumped into darkness. This is partly due to the city’s troubled electricity entity, City Power, w...

Derailed - how Prasa fixes trains and then leave them to rot, with Sipho Masondo

26 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Remember those old yellow and grey Metrorail trains? The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) is shelling out billions of your tax money to r...

Special edition: Trump vs Ramaphosa with News24’s top editors

22 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Unprecedented and historic scenes played out in the White House on Wednesday night when US President Donald Trump had a television rolled into the Ova...

Budget cuts, a fuel levy increase and SA’s debt crisis, with Carol Paton

21 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s not a statement you would’ve seen two months ago. The Democratic Alliance on Wednesday said it’s “cautiously” supporting Finance Minist...

Deal or no deal? Ramaphosa ready for Trump

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Can they strike a deal? This is perhaps the big question on the lips of geopolitical and economic analysts as President Cyril Ramaphosa and US counter...

Has Vusi ‘Cat’ Matlala run out of lives? Jeff Wicks on his arrest and tender trouble

19 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

He is languishing in a prison cell for an attempted hit on his former lover, and now the walls are closing in on tender don, Vusimusi ‘Cat’ Matlal...

Is Ramaphosa wasting his time with Trump? With Pieter du Toit

15 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Youth unemployment, crumbling municipal infrastructure, persistent power cuts and escalating crime levels remain South Africa’s reality. Yet Preside...

NAMPO farmers tell Nick Wilson they’re staying

14 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Cyril Ramaphosa described the first group of so-called “Afrikaner refugees”, who took up the US Trump Administration’s invitation to r...

'I am an Afrikaner', with Adriaan Basson

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Whatever you'd like to call them; the "49ers", the "Amerikaners", the "Afrikaner refugees", they've officially d...

The first ‘Amerikaners’ leave SA, with Alex Mitchley

12 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The annals of SA/US relations are at a watershed. They’ll historically show that in early May 2025, after a run of public holidays celebrating Sout...

There’s more than enough good news to go around, here are News24’s best stories

08 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Between the headlines on disaster, corruption, and crime are stories that delight South Africans. In fact, some of the most read articles on News24 ov...

The ‘Sheriff of Cape Town’s’ case against the police and courts

07 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

He’s sometimes referred to as the “Sheriff of Cape Town”. A senior DA politician who’s occupied a top City post for 16 years. The City’s Saf...

Families, survivors commemorate the George building collapse one year on

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Considered one of South Africa’s deadliest construction disasters, May 6, 2025, marks a year since 34 people were killed in the George residential b...

Zero accountability in Joburg cleaning tender saga

05 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the City of Johannesburg's Property Company entity shelled out more than R18 million in what's underst...