10 episodes
The Highwaymen Daily Maverick
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- News
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5.0 • 7 Ratings
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In December 2022, the 55th – and possibly last – elective conference of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress will take place against a backdrop of socio-political chaos. In this new limited audio documentary series by Daily Maverick, investigative journalists Richard Poplak and Diana Neille take a road trip across South Africa in search of answers to how the country got to this breaking point, and how the lives and careers of three senior ANC figures – Ace Magashule, Gwede Mantashe and Dr Zweli Mkhize – may be representative of the rise and stumble of our once vaunted democratic project and, by extension, liberal democracies everywhere.
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EPISODE 8: Democracy is a Funny Thing
In this final episode of the journey, investigative journalists Diana Neille and Richard Poplak visit the ground zero of the July 2021 uprising: the strategic town of Mooi River. Here, we wrap up our deep dive into the nature of 21st-century liberal democracy, and come to some conclusions on why it appears to be floundering.
Featuring:
Lincoln Waite, resident of Mooi River
Matt Nurse, resident of Mooi River
Gordon Odell, resident of Mooi River
Mzwandile Nconco, resident of Mooi River
Songezo Zibi, author and co-founder of progressive think tank, the Rivonia Circle
Ivor Chipkin, co-founder of the New South Institute
Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of Gift of the Givers
Dr Setlhomamaru Dintwe, Intelligence inspector-general
Archive & Music Credits:
SABC News / eNews Channel Africa /
Written, produced & directed by Richard Poplak and Diana Neille
Fact checking and editorial oversight by Sasha Wales-Smith
Editing & sound design by Diana Neille, Bernard Kotze & Tevya Turok Shapiro
Original soundtrack & visual aesthetic by Bernard Kotze
Additional music by Janus van der Merwe
Additional voice work by Ayanda Charlie
Transcriptions by Gloria Cooper
Project Manager: Kathryn Kotze
Marketing lead: Sarah Koopman
Editor-in-Chief: Branko Brkic
Deputy Editor: Jillian Green
Executive Producer: Styli Charalambous
Produced with support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation
(The content may not necessarily reflect the Foundation’s views or opinions) -
EPISODE 7: Lights Out
Gwede Mantashe now presides over the most important portfolio in the Cabinet — mining and energy. He’s run it like a fiefdom, trying to shut down any real commitment to a green energy transition. We also explore how Mantashe aided and abetted state capture, and the slow but sure creep toward a gangster state, and all-out gang warfare.
Featuring:
Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy
Ferial Haffajee, Daily Maverick Associate Editor
Heinrich Böhmke, Director of the Specialised Skills Institute of South Africa; former trade unionist
Archive & Music Credits:
SABC News / eNews Channel Africa / France 24 / CGTN
Written, produced & directed by Richard Poplak and Diana Neille
Fact checking and editorial oversight by Sasha Wales-Smith
Editing & sound design by Diana Neille, Bernard Kotze & Tevya Turok Shapiro
Original soundtrack & visual aesthetic by Bernard Kotze
Additional music by Janus van der Merwe
Additional voice work by Ayanda Charlie
Transcriptions by Gloria Cooper
Project Manager: Kathryn Kotze
Marketing lead: Sarah Koopman
Editor-in-Chief: Branko Brkic
Deputy Editor: Jillian Green
Executive Producer: Styli Charalambous
Produced with support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation
(The content may not necessarily reflect the Foundation’s views or opinions) -
EPISODE 6: Island of Angels
In this episode, the investigation swerves into South Africa’s Eastern Cape province — home of Struggle heroes like Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki and the Sisulus. But here the focus is on one of the most powerful politicians of the democratic era — Gwede Mantashe, long-time ANC boss and current Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy. As we delve into Mantashe’s life, we learn about his history in organised labour, and the role unions played in bringing down apartheid. But as the democratic age deepened, organised labour became embedded in the ANC, and Mantashe became the company man — a genial version of a mob boss.
Featuring:
Gwede Mantashe, former union boss, ANC Secretary General and current Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy
Ferial Haffajee, Daily Maverick Associate Editor
Heinrich Böhmke, Director of the Specialised Skills Institute of South Africa; former trade unionist
Neil Coleman, Co-Founder and Senior Policy Specialist at Institute For Economic Justice (IEJ)
Jay Naidoo, co-founder of Cosatu
Estelle Ellis, Daily Maverick Senior Journalist
Bantu Holomisa, Parliamentarian and president of the United Democratic Movement
Dr Protas Madlala, Struggle stalwart, businessman and academic
Archive & Music Credits:
SABC News / eNCA / British Pathé
Written, produced & directed by Richard Poplak and Diana Neille
Fact checking and editorial oversight by Sasha Wales-Smith
Editing & sound design by Diana Neille, Bernard Kotze & Tevya Turok Shapiro
Original soundtrack & visual aesthetic by Bernard Kotze
Additional music by Janus van der Merwe
Additional voice work by Ayanda Charlie
Transcriptions by Gloria Cooper
Project Manager: Kathryn Kotze
Marketing lead: Sarah Koopman
Editor-in-Chief: Branko Brkic
Deputy Editor: Jillian Green
Executive Producer: Styli Charalambous
Produced with support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation
(The content may not necessarily reflect the Foundation’s views or opinions) -
EPISODE 5: Mister Ten Percent
Continuing with the Elias “Ace” Magashule saga, Diana Neille and Richard Poplak delve into the alleged political murder of Noby Ngombane, a key administrator in the attempted clean up of the Free State during the early zeroes. His assassination is an example of what can happen when, in the binary gap between opportunity and poverty, liberal democracies begin to swerve toward gangsterism. The tragedy reverberates through the years, as if the sound of the gunshots has never faded.
Featuring:
Elias Sekgobelo “Ace” Magashule, former Free State leader and former Secretary General of the ANC
Nokwanda Ngombane, former chief of staff to former Free State premier, Beatrice Marshoff
Petrus “Pat” Zanemvula Matosa, struggle stalwart and former ANC Free State leader
Pieter-Louis Myburgh, investigative journalist at Daily Maverick Scorpio
Beatrice Marshoff, former Premier of the Free State
Archive & Music Credits:
SABC News / eNCA / Ray Charles, “Drown In My Own Tears” / Luther Vandross, “Dance With My Father”, sung by Zandile Ngombane
Written, produced & directed by Richard Poplak and Diana Neille
Fact checking and editorial oversight by Sasha Wales-Smith
Editing & sound design by Diana Neille, Bernard Kotze & Tevya Turok Shapiro
Original soundtrack & visual aesthetic by Bernard Kotze
Additional music by Janus van der Merwe
Additional voice work by Ayanda Charlie
Transcriptions by Gloria Cooper
Project Manager: Kathryn Kotze
Marketing lead: Sarah Koopman
Editor-in-Chief: Branko Brkic
Deputy Editor: Jillian Green
Executive Producer: Styli Charalambous
Produced with support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation
(The content may not necessarily reflect the Foundation’s views or opinions) -
EPISODE 4: Out In Their Coats
For many years, the Free State functioned as the personal fiefdom of one of South Africa’s most prominent – and most dangerous – politicians: former drama nerd, “internal exile” and Secretary General of the African National Congress, Elias “Ace” Magashule. Nokwanda Ngombane and her family experienced firsthand the thrall Magashule held over the province from the 2000s until his fall from power in 2021, and paid the ultimate price for their role in trying to rid the Free State of factionalism and corruption.
Featuring:
Elias Sekgobelo “Ace” Magashule, former Free State leader and former Secretary General of the ANC
Nokwanda Ngombane, former chief of staff to former Free State premier, Beatrice Marshoff
Petrus “Pat” Zanemvula Matosa, struggle stalwart and former ANC Free State leader
Pieter-Louis Myburgh, investigative journalist at Daily Maverick Scorpio
Archive & Music Credits:
Associated Press / SABC News / eNews Channel Africa / Periscope Film / SA History Online
Written, produced & directed by Richard Poplak and Diana Neille
Fact checking and editorial oversight by Sasha Wales-Smith
Editing & sound design by Diana Neille, Bernard Kotze & Tevya Turok Shapiro
Original soundtrack & visual aesthetic by Bernard Kotze
Additional music by Janus van der Merwe
Additional voice work by Ayanda Charlie
Transcriptions by Gloria Cooper
Project Manager: Kathryn Kotze
Marketing lead: Sarah Koopman
Editor-in-Chief: Branko Brkic
Deputy Editor: Jillian Green
Executive Producer: Styli Charalambous
Produced with support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation
(The content may not necessarily reflect the Foundation’s views or opinions) The Highwaymen -
BONUS EPISODE: Pallo Jordan's Waltz
In this bonus mini-episode, Diana Neille and Richard Poplak give some context to their seven-point progression of how liberal democracies break down over time, referred to throughout the series. They’ve enlisted the help of struggle stalwart and former cabinet minister and ANC National Executive Committee member, Pallo Jordan, to illustrate how South Africa’s democratic project is emblematic of this breakdown.
Featuring:
- Pallo Jordan, struggle stalwart and former ANC National Executive Committee member & cabinet minister
Written, produced & directed by Richard Poplak and Diana Neille
Fact checking and editorial oversight by Sasha Wales-Smith
Editing & sound design by Diana Neille, Bernard Kotze & Tevya Turok Shapiro
Original soundtrack & visual aesthetic by Bernard Kotze
Additional voice work by Ayanda Charlie
Transcriptions by Gloria Cooper
Project Manager: Kathryn Kotze
Marketing lead: Sarah Koopman
Editor-in-Chief: Branko Brkic
Deputy Editor: Jillian Green
Executive Producer: Styli Charalambous
Produced with support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation
(The content may not necessarily reflect the Foundation’s views or opinions)