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118 episodes

Ekurhuleni Murders: What We Know About the Killings of 12 Women
2026/10/14 | 4 mins.
At least 12 women have been reported murdered in Ekurhuleni since July 2026, prompting speculation that a serial killer may be operating in Gauteng. Police have set up a task team to investigate possible links between several cases but have not confirmed whether any are connected. Daily Maverick journalist Reitumetse Pilane sets out what is known: the similarities between the cases, the arrests and evidence that suggest some are unrelated, and what forensic experts say about how investigators approach a possible series.

Reporting by: Reitumetse Pilane

Filmed by: Malibingwe Tyilo

Edited by: Anda Tolibadi

Produced by: Emilie Gambade

Creative input by: Malibongwe Tyilo

Sub-edited by: Ian Wolstenholme

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

00:28 The Latest Case: Boitumelo Nhlanzi

01:14 What Points to a Connection

02:05 What Doesn't Fit the Pattern

03:01 What the Experts Say

03:45 What Remains Unknown

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Inside the South African drug deal that exposed an alleged Afghan trafficker and his ‘Taliban ties’
2026/10/09 | 4 mins.
A confidential US Drug Enforcement Administration source bought a methamphetamine sample in a Johannesburg parking lot in December 2024, evidence now central to a federal case against former Afghan politician Abdul Zahir Qadeer. Qadeer, once a general in Afghanistan’s Border Force, was arrested in Kenya in April 2025 and extradited to the United States, where he faces charges of conspiring to traffic narcotics and heavy weapons internationally. Journalist Caryn Dolley traces South Africa's role in the case, drawing on a DEA agent's criminal complaint.

Reporting by: Caryn Dolley

Edited by: Anda Tolibadi

Filmed by: Joel Seboa

Produced by: Emilie Gambade

Sub-edited by: Kevin Flynn

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:58 Who Is Abdul Zahir Qadeer

01:48 South Africa’s Role in the Investigation

02:10 The DEA’s Confidential Source

03:17 The Methamphetamine Sample Order

03:39 10 December 2024: The Parking Lot Handover

04:31 Case Significance

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Broke, divided and barely visible: the ANC limps towards 4 November
2026/10/07 | 18 mins.
With less than a month until South Africa’s 4 November local government elections, Daily Maverick’s Ferial Haffajee and Mondli Makhanya assess the state of the ANC’s campaign. They also talk about Johannesburg, where recent polling suggests the DA will not win an outright majority.
Hosted by: Ferial Haffajee and Mondli Makhanya
Edited by: Joel Seboa
Produced by: Emilie Gambade & Joel Seboa
Original Theme Music & Design by: Bernard Kotze
This episode of Power Chat is brought to you by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, an organisation dedicated to strengthening democracy and human rights across the world, and creating new momentum for liberalism.

00:00 – Introduction: Election Season
01:55 – The ANC's "Ground Campaign"
02:45 – Funding and Organisational Strain
05:00 – Visibility on the Campaign Trail
06:05 – Regional Defiance of National Decisions
07:55 – Andile Lungisa and Luthuli House
08:45 – Frank Chikane Left Off the Joburg List
11:05 – Johannesburg Polling and the DA
13:00 – Coalition Models for Johannesburg
15:55 – Business Pressure and the National ANC
18:05 – The Coalition Timeline
19:55 – Tshwane

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Support journalism that protects democracy.
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AI Risks and AI Hype: Two Daily Maverick Journalists Debate
2026/09/30 | 31 mins.
In this Daily Maverick Power Chat, senior journalist Rebecca Davis and Business Maverick managing editor Lindsey Schutters debate the risks of artificial intelligence. Davis argues that recent reported incidents, including AI agents hacking systems, altering their own reasoning records and acting beyond their instructions, point to genuine safety concerns. Schutters explains that much of the existential fear reflects marketing by AI companies seeking investment ahead of stock market listings, and that responsibility lies with the people who build the models. The discussion covers AI safety, autonomous agents, military applications, AGI and the future of white-collar work.

This episode of Power Chat is brought to you by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, an organisation dedicated to strengthening democracy and human rights across the world, and creating new momentum for liberalism.

Hosted by: Rebecca Davis and Lindsey Schutters

Edited by: Joel Seboa

Produced by: Emilie Gambade & Joel Seboa

Original Theme Music & Design by: Bernard Kotze

You can listen to the podcast everywhere, including YouTube, Apple Podcast and Spotify!

You can listen to the podcast everywhere, including YouTube, Apple Podcast and Spotify!
Support journalism that protects democracy.
Become a Maverick Insider. https://tinyurl.com/SupportDailyMaverick

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Cape Town Planning Tribunal Agreed With Officials Almost Every Time
2026/09/30 | 7 mins.
Over thirteen months, Cape Town’s Municipal Planning Tribunal ruled on 1,328 land-use and development cases. Not one was recorded as an explicit departure from city planners’ recommendations. The pattern surfaced in a fight over two data centres proposed near Cape Town International Airport, where objectors warned of a 174-megawatt draw on the grid and 4.4 billion litres of water a year, in communities that already struggle to pay municipal bills. Daily Maverick’s Kevin Bloom’s reporting explains what the numbers show, how the city defends them, why the city says the tribunal occasionally disagrees, and why the tribunal’s required independence - set out in national law - is now in question.

Reporting by: Kevin Bloom

Filmed by: Joel Seboa

Edited by: Anda Tolibadi

Produced by: Emilie Gambade

Creative input by: Malibongwe Tyilo

Sub-edited by: Ian Wolstenholme

For Daily Maverick’s full report on this issue, please see the link here.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/artic...

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/artic...

You can listen to the podcast everywhere, including YouTube, Apple Podcast and Spotify!
Support journalism that protects democracy.
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